


A Skeleton's Maid

by Moldorng (NineKat)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Angst, Blood, Drunkenness, Ecto-Tongue (Undertale), Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Female Reader, Manipulation, Monsters are more Technologically Advanced., Named Reader, Possessive Behavior, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reverse Harem, Sexual Tension, Short Sans, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smoking, Somnophilia, Soul Marking, Tags only added as they happen., This story will contain darker and sexual themes later on so be aware of this!, Tsundere Sans (Underfell), Vomiting, Yandere Sans (Underswap), light gore, multiple AUs, suffocation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-04-06 09:14:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 100,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14053716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NineKat/pseuds/Moldorng
Summary: Monsters living on the surface? Check! Recent unemployment? Check! Mysterious opportunities coming out of nowhere? Check! Fluffy reverse harem promises that spiral into horrible manipulative angst and hurt? Chec--wait, what?What started out as a simple curiosity blossomed into, well, humor-filled confusion. The Reader being thrown into a house full of things she most certainly could not understand. When she first read the Help Wanted ad for a maid, her mind went instantly to some sort of Shojo Anime where she would be dusting things with nothing but a literal maid outfit. More logic thoughts pointed to it being a regular old boring house servant job, but... with monsters. Neither thought prepared her for what she was to experience. First impressions are key, right? Well, she just about twisted and broke the key in the lock. There is no end to this crazy skeleton ride. Get ready for Slow Burns, Jealousy, Angst, Even Slower Burns, and so much more![On break for a while.]





	1. Who reads the newspaper?

**Author's Note:**

> **I DO NOT claim to own ANY characters that appear in this fiction!** Credits are given to each AU at the end of the chapters. If their characterizations are a bit off, I am sorry about that, but I will do my best to get them as close as I can with a bit of headcanon work thrown in. This is a porn with a plot in the end-- honestly, there's so much (probably bad) plot between the smut. I won't promise it will always make much sense, but I'm doing my best with the type of setup this is since it is mostly my idea dump getting back into writing.
> 
> _Smut chapters marked with an *._

"Professor Serif! Professor Serif!"

Cameras clicked loudly, echoing down the hallway of the large Ebott University, a couple of eager reports following after a figure making his way at a lazy pace. He turned, his appearance becoming known as he was a monster. Several monsters were even present around the area going about their business, all coming in various shapes and sizes.

The monster with the reporters focusing on him was of the skeleton variety, a permanent grin holding a joyful appearance at first glance and hollow eyes cast in blackness only lit up by quarter-sized pricks of light. His relaxed lab coat and lazily thrown on turtleneck and slack pants really expressed his laid back posture even further. After he had stopped, a human reporter came up to him quickly for her chance at getting to question him first. A tall male rabbit reporter scrunching his eyebrows as he had to wait his turn when he was promptly pushed aside.

The female reporter held her palm-sized recorder down out towards him with their heights nearly the same while she asked, "Professor, any comment on your sudden absence from your classes? This is your first return to the University in weeks.”

Such a question would normally put anyone on edge, yet this skeleton let out a soft heh at it, shrugging just to emphasize his worry of how to answer.

“ _ nah _ , just got lazy and forgot to get to class.”

Both reporters were left stumped with such an answer which only caused the male rabbit to push the woman reporter aside so he could hold up his own recorder towards the skeleton. The woman being shoved did not take too kindly at that, yet she let out her frustration in a stern glare towards the much taller rabbit.

“Sans, there must be a reason you are slacking now of all times. Your classes had reached a height of attendance before this sudden drop-off,” the rabbit urged, genuine concern on his face as if he knew this monster a bit better than the other reporter. 

Again, the skeleton, known as Professor Sans Serif, stuffed his hands into his coat pockets to slowly close one eye as he stared up at the familiar monster. No break in his tired demeanor, but he did let out a long sigh as if getting brief consideration.

“sorry, bud, really can’t say much more than that,” Sans continued to answer nonchalantly before turning to begin walking away once more. The two reporters were not done though as they stepped forward with the female one ducking out in front of the rabbit.

"There has to be more to it! Rumors say you have begun working with your father again despite past incidents surrounding him."

Now, Sans froze and his calm posture shook at that bit of information. Not wasting a second more, he continued his walk a bit faster with just enough gain that he turned a corner far before the two reporters on his tail.

"We know that talking about Doctor Gaster is a sensitive subject, but--"

The rabbit monster was in front now, his statement stopped short as both of them made it around the corner in time to see that Sans was gone. Such a situation left the reporters frustrated and looking at each other for answers, losing their chance at getting a real story hook.

 

\--

 

_ Fifteen years. . . _

That is how long it has been since the monsters reached the surface. Through all the beginning paranoia, then the riots, and even through the peaceful protests-- the monsters survived and were now a part of society. There were still hate groups here and there, but with the technology by the great Doctor Gaster brought a quickened trust between humans and monsters. This left things returning to normal, especially for the locals that got to see the monsters in their everyday life. Granted, some were still put off by the many different shapes a few of the monsters came in, or the more rare types to be encountered, but life was civil nonetheless.

**Beep beep beep. . .**

**Beep beep beep. . .**

**Beep beep be--**

A sluggish hand grabbed for a nearby phone as the alarm silenced, a form squirming under comfortable sheets accompanied the morning grumbles of someone that very much wanted to stay in bed. This woman, or Patricia as she is named, she was one of these locals who lived deep in the more human side of town. Pushing her way out of bed, she gave a stretch before scanning over her bedroom that was in complete disarray. Takeout food bags, piles of dirty clothes-- she had surely not bothered even getting out of bed beyond ordering food for days.

Her head was pounding and her body ached while she pushed herself to go finally take care of some bodily hygiene, the act of which was greatly needed. The shower was long-drawn and freezing, not out of saving hot water, but because it was how she preferred it. Soon after, found herself making her way out with a towel around her neck and dressed in some comfortable wear to lounge around in. She did not need to be anywhere today anyhow, flopping down on the couch to flip on the television. Normally, she was not one to watch it in this day of the internet, but ever since the world had changed, well, the news got a lot more interesting.

The station that lit up on the screen was the afternoon news, showing the front of an impressive school or college (she could not tell) the door far too big for any normal person, almost comical, and a gold-plated symbol hanging above it that the camera focused, then brought down to the woman reporting. 

"--have had the monsters helping advance our society, and even teach our people; children and adults alike. With their impressive knowledge surpassing and advancing technology faster than it has in decades! Today marks the five year anniversary of the government finally allowing this beautiful school to be built, coming a long way through the riots and outright attacks, but now houses some of the brightest minds in our country! However, we have been told that, sadly, one of the leading professors remains firm for his long absence that no one has given comment on... In lighter news, this gave room for the first human to gain a job at this lustrous monster-ran school! One step closer to a true peace between human and monster kind."

The reporter motioned her hand to the side as the camera panned to the front of the schoolyard that appeared more like a college campus than anything, both monsters and humans roaming around the well-gardened paths lush with flowers and foliage. 

"Queen Toriel! Do you have a moment," the reporter suddenly sang with excitement as the camera snapped over towards a tall figure making her way down the main pathway. Standing at least seven foot walked a massive monster that was anything but monstrous in fact. Soft white fur poked from her modest purple dress that appeared as delicate as her expressions while she gained the attention; petite horns and flopped ears showed her to hold some resemblance to a goat in the most gentle way possible.

"Oh my, you may just call me Toriel, please. I am no longer a Queen," the goat woman's voice flowed out with such a motherly charm it could melt even the coldest of hearts. She tilt her head to the side, one of her fuzzy ears shifting off her shoulder when she leaned down towards the much smaller reporter. A stack of papers firm in one of her paws that she held delicately, despite the claws she adorned.

"S-sorry! - I meant no disrespect," the reporter's voice broke, "Toriel, may we speak."

The awkward air forming really gave some light of how interactions among humans and monsters could still be awkward and, as if sensing the tension, Toriel shifted up to move an arm, directing the camera over to the entrance of the school; it followed the directing skillfully.

"Of course you may ask me anything, are you here for our five year anniversary of Mt. Ebott's University?"

Toriel's warm attitude eased the silence that sent relief on the reporter's face at the quick save of her broadcast after her fumble. Now, she could continue without any more delay.

"Yes! Are there any plans for this wonderful achievement?"

The reporter came back with her cheerful mood revived and the camera pans back down to the two standing next to each other now, a microphone motioned up towards Toriel eagerly while a brief moment of embarrassment crossed the monster's face; yet, after a second of thought, she wiggled her finger at the camera teasingly.

"Plans? Why yes," she playfully paused like she was about to spill a secret, even leaning closer to the reporter, "I should not be saying this yet, but there may be something. - I dare say. - Exciting! Happening tonight and over the weekend," a sly giggle escaped her, but grew a bashful look, "Oh my, I won't say more.”

The reporter burst out into a soft laughter, the reaction not entirely forced this time around. The two enjoyed the light-hearted moment that a few nearby bystanders smiled at and after that, the reporter gave a tap in her ear to hear her instructions and nodded to the camera. Toriel made sure to give a gentle wave at the camera, noticing the signal for a wrap-up.

"I'm afraid that's all we have here. Back to you, Jameson!"

The camera cut to the usual news station as they began to chatter over their excitement towards the event. Sighing to the news report, Patricia on the couch pushed her way up and walked over to her window, pulling her towel free from her neck and parting the curtains just enough to peer out into the dimming sky where she could see Mt. Ebott.

Formerly one of the most superstitious places in the area now a beacon of human and monster history. - Reminiscing at the sight, she saw the bustling city that was previously a town at the base of a mountain; she was still a child during those times. With the monsters moving in, this place really grew and that was mostly because it was the only area they could go, so they had to start building on it. Most human residents even moved out which only made it easier for monsters to move in. Despite that, living here is not easy with rent prices skyrocketed from greedy landlords taking advantage of those who could not leave and those monsters desperate to live on the surface; this included her in the former.

She supposed it was time to try to find something to eat in her increasingly declining kitchen food stock. There was no way she was going to be able to keep living off takeout food and it was draining her funds as well, now needing to rely on canned goods that she was unsure how long she had up in her cabinets. It did not take long for her eyes to light up to finding a stray can of ravioli. In boiling excitement, she grabbed it with the feeling as though she won the jackpot, despite not being sure how long it had been up there, yet she did not care and she made her way to open it, slopping her victorious meal into a bowl then popping it into the microwave.

A light knocking at her door broke her hunger-driven daze. She made her way over as she heard another knock to which she let out a soft ‘ _ Coming!’ _ , her voice hoarse, she noted, from not using it in days. Opening the door, she was greeted by empty air, no one was there. Not a big deal to her, so she shrugged it off, yet paused at an object catching her eye on the ground, causing her to glance down where she saw a folded up newspaper which struck her as strange. When she turned to ignore it she had a curious pang in the back of her mind. Spinning back, she leaned down to take the paper and then head back inside in one fast motion to not get seen.

The beeping of the microwave erupted annoyingly as she set the paper down on the coffee table and then headed into the small kitchen. The smell of the cooked ravioli made her forget her worries for the moment, taking her prize to the couch. The television was still going on the news with the night settling in along with the less upbeat stories that she did not want to see, so she grabbed the controller intending to change it. - There was hesitation at hearing what was being reported…

"A riot broke out this morning in downtown Ebott city -," close to where she lived, making her tense, "- with it being over a year since any large, monster-related incident. Reports say in this very diner a hostile monster attacked a human in broad daylight! Nothing of this degree, even in the past, had ever been heard of as we were told by the monsters themselves to be wary of this individual."

On the screen flashed a photograph of a skeleton monster unlike she had ever seen. Those types she swore there were only a few of in the entire monster population which came as a surprise with how much variety there was out of the species. Getting back on topic, this one was different than any she saw on television, much more sinister looking. A stout body structure that let him fit into his black parka perfectly while the cream fur lined hood went up to his skull. Red and yellow accents spread through his attire here and there with a crimson colored turtleneck settling under the jacket and, when she looked hard enough, she could see what she could only compare to a dog collar around his neck. That was not the only edgy feature she could see as his eyes held red dots of light and the same color shadowed on the bottom edge of each socket. To pull it all together were those teeth, sharp ones that looked as though they could rip anything in half along with one being plated in gold.

Now, she was aware she focused too much on this news story as the picture cut away to the worried reporter. The news went on telling who to call and to stay away from this individual, then interviews spewed out just as fast which would surely show up all over the internet in no time. Finally, changing the channel over to a nature channel she realized she had a light blush on her face. Damn her attraction to dangerous types, and probably a fascination with monsters in general. Yeah, she was one of those types of people, already finding herself shy around the few monsters she did run into at the human side of town.

Shrugging at her thoughts, she remembered she had a meal fit for a Queen sitting in her lap. So brushing that off, she watched the calming nature scenes and zoom-ins on frogs in the rainforest with her eating. After the first few bites, she made sure to get up to grab her water bottle, chugging down a fair bit of it right at the fridge. On her way back she stopped, eyeing that newspaper; she had not read one of those since she was little, thinking who even used them anymore. Curiosity got the better of her so she reached for it and pulled open the pages with little confusion just due to not handling this type of media in so long, then laid it out in her lap. 

Most of this material was already regularly covered on the internet and of little interest to her. Eventually, she landed in the help-wanted section that she did not know was still a thing. She cringed at the idea of getting a job through a newspaper in today's age, although it was amusing to see what people wanted, having her go down the section. There was nothing too surprising, just mechanic ads or smaller businesses that could not afford to advertise anywhere else. That was when she landed her sights on an interesting one from the title of it, almost spitting out her water.

 

**HELP WANTED: HUMAN MAID!**

Do you enjoy working with monsters? Would you like to live where you work? Are you willing to clean after dozens of occupants? Call XXX-XXXXX for an interview today! Work experience needed: Being a human, over the age of 21, and willingness to work with monsters.

 

Maybe it was for some monster senior home making her wonder if they even got old. Shaking her head, she was curious and stared down the ad for a moment longer. Being recently laid off from her teaching, she was in dire need of a quick and easy job. Usually even getting a job at a grocery store was a hassle of paperwork and degrees in this city. So she reached for her phone to look at the time. The screen showing it was a bit past eight which was far too late to be calling about a job.

She eyed the newspaper sitting on the other side of the couch. That ad was itching her so much as she stared at it until her eyes formed a glare and she seemed to have an argument in her head. Perhaps she should at least see if it was the real deal by calling to get an answering machine. So she took a deep breath to relax and began to dial the number, fully expecting to just hear a machine on the other end and possibly even get some work hour times to call them for real.

**_Ring… Ring… Rin--_ ** "ugh... yeah," a deep tone rumbled in a query through the phone that caught her off guard and she lost her voice in a choked noise. Even more so it was such a pleasing voice too. A blush forming on her cheeks in realizing she had not even spoken to a man in so long making anxiety tighten her chest. To make matters worse was hearing the man speak again, "you just gonna breath into the phone all day, bud? you're really  **holding up the line** , heh."

_ Shit, well, that was embarrassing _ , her mind scolded her, not even aware that he could hear her breathing during her hesitation, but she could not back down now. Doubt rang in her mind. - This sounded like just some dude's personal phone. - Regardless, she built the courage and straightened her back, her skin tingling from nerves.

"S-sorry! I didn't expect anyone to answer at this hour I... uhm, the job," her face heated at every word, "I mean, I was looking at this ad-- er, a job ad; - shit I mean. - Is this-- I'm so sorry, I think I got the wrong number!" 

Right now she did not even realize she spewed out incoherently with her heart racing and fingers twitching at the urge to just hang up there to avoid further discomfort. Before deciding such action, a low chuckle vibrated through the phone that caught her even more off guard than before. - Fuck, she just humiliated herself in front of a stranger and not only that but a total stranger with a hot voice!

"nah, you got the right number. 'bout time someone called with the months it's been up," that smoothly bass voice responded, which was not helping her stress one bit, and she was unprepared; there was no way she could handle an interview, or asking for one, or-- he interrupted her panic, "so you want the job? how 'boutcha come down here for the interview."

Okay, that was way too easy, she had to admit with the tension in her chest growing taunt from being asked to come down for an interview only moments after calling about a job. - Was he not going to ask her any questions? Not even a name? Was this really a joke and some sort of shady dealing? - Her principles going wild in her head and heart thudding so fast before she snapped up realizing she was silent again, not wanting to be caught breathing into the phone again.

"R... r-right now? I... uhm, can I maybe come tomorrow? Is it not late? But-- uhm, you're not going to... ask me anything?"

She was so nervous, unsure of what to say as this was nothing like she had experienced with previous jobs, not that she had the best experience with them. Another laughter startled her as she only felt flustered anytime he seemed to be amused at her dismay.

"you a human?"

He was blunt, at which she blinked a few times as if bewildered by such a question, even glancing down at herself.

"...Yes?"

That came out more of a question from her lips than she really wanted it to, pretty sure she was a human the last time she checked.

"you okay with monsters?"

Again, he was direct and to the point which she hated, causing her to gulp from being nervous. She really could not tell if he was a monster as he sounded like a regular guy, facepalming internally to being unsure why she thought monsters would sound different on the phone.

"Uhm... yeah?"

The answer she gave was uncertain and her mind prickled with worry over sounding anti-monster accidentally since she absolutely hated conflict; after all, she did not dislike monsters, they were just, new-- different.

"okay, come down for an interview, lady," he responded again before a drawn-out yawn. She wondered if she had woken him up causing her to feel guilty now, but he never answered if it was too late. Opening her mouth to say more, he continued before she could, "address is 184 new road street and tell the gates that Sans is letting ya in."

"Isn't it too la--," she began to question but heard the click of the phone hanging up. Her shoulders bristled from just being hung up on, there was no way this was a real job ad, nobody professional would act that way or ask to speak at nearly nine in the night. There was no chance she was going to go to some stranger's home and probably get mugged... or worse, a dry gulp leaving her breath. Taking a moment of recollection she huffed in her frustration, showing how she felt by kicking that stupid newspaper off the couch. She knew she was fuming like a child, but that was unexpected and now she worried that some stranger had her phone number, only to hope they could not track it when she did not show up to this interview of theirs.

Needing a distraction, she leaned over to seize the charging laptop from her coffee table. She was never doing something stupid like that again was her agreement with herself while she flipped open the device then she opened her favorite browsing material; cat videos and video game live streams being just that.

Two hours went by fast as she giggled at a cat trying to fit its way into a box.

**_RING!_ ** That was when her phone began to ring, startling her more than she would have liked. This having her glance at the clock on her laptop to which she noted it was half past ten already while the phone continued to ring. Discerning the number on the screen, she pulled it close, then only barely recognized it. - Seriously? Is that guy calling HER? - Her irrational anger fumed now out of her previous embarrassment, deciding to ignore it and set down her phone to continue ringing until it finally sputtered out. A voice mail never came, much to her annoyance, and instead, the phone rang again with the same number. - Was he going to keep calling until she answered? - That was her assumption, but she could keep ignoring it, or-- she could tell him to stop. She had never told someone off before, but she was feeling particularly annoyed and brave tonight.

"What?!"

She nearly yelled into the phone the moment she placed it next to her ear and, to her surprise, she only got that smooth laughter in return which was an unexpected response gaining a raised eyebrow.

"ain't coming, lady or ya get lost? you're really leaving me  **bone dry** here," he huffed with a trace annoyance making his already deep voice slightly intimidating. The consideration of upsetting him made her shiver with regret, unsure how to respond, yet there was no way she could bark back at another person. She moved the phone away as if to hang up, but hearing the voice again she brought it back to her ear. "look, i get it, it's late, but we just really need the help and you're the first human to call.  **throw me a bone** here."

_ Wait, human? That means he really was a monster _ , she questioned in her head with curiosity spiking as, oddly, her trust levels went up for this guy at this realization. Of course, if it were a human doing this she would think it be an obvious trap for immoral actions, however, there was a quiver in this guy's voice which made her feel like it may be genuine. That only made her feel worse as she silently groaned in her mistake, but it was still late, the remembrance that she rode a bike hitting her. - Like, a dinky bicycle.

"I... uhm, well, it's pitch black outside and..." she trailed off, feeling spikes of nerves hitching her throat, it was shameful to admit she did not have a car in such a growing city. Before she waited too long she quickly finished her statement, "I kind of ride a bike a-and it's dark." 

Her repeat of it being nighttime made her cringe and the fact she was using it as an excuse. A long sigh came from the other side as she was sure she would not have the job now if there ever was one. She should just hang up now because she was wasting some stranger's time.  _ An easy job like that is a pipe dream, someone else will come snag it up quick _ , she told herself and maybe she will even help out by posting it on some social media since the newspaper was no good way to get a job out.

"nah, you're right, first thing in the morning then. just don't wear-- never mind, just come tomorrow; thanks, lady," his voice came out with a bit of concern in the middle, not to mention a little demanding, her less-than-innocent views really tried not to think about it. - It really had been a while since she interacted with a guy. - She shook it off, then went to say more, but heard the soft click of the phone hanging up. He hung up on her again which did not sting any less this time.

Staring down at her phone's home screen, she sighed to the fact just woke up and if she had to do things in the morning that just meant she needed to sleep shortly which made her groan at her confliction. Well, if anything is going to get her off her ass it would be the promise of an easy job, so she stood up, figuring the best way to get tired would be to do things to tire herself out and that meant tackling that mess of a room then she would add in a few workouts that she was neglecting. Puffing up her chest, she was determined now.

 

\--The Next Day--

 

"Uggghhhh, I hate morningssss," she muttered to herself and cracked her eyes open, feeling her soreness along with the damp sweat on her worn body and just to nail the coffin was the morning sun glimmering through in her face. The choice of wearing herself out physically before going to sleep was the worse idea she has ever had and now she just wanted to sleep forever, but that tug of anxiety that she had things to do today pulled her from the sheets. She had even fallen asleep in her workout gear. - Just great. - So a shower first which did not take her long to do so and get ready as she made sure to get extra clean, thanking herself for taking care of shaving the other day, but she made an extra pass due to slipping on one of her pencil skirts. After all, it escaped her mind completely that she was applying for a maid position while she dressed in something more professional, a lot of her outfits were like this due to being a former teacher. She pulled her freshly dried hair into a modest bun, smiling in the mirror to add the final touches on her simple makeup. Pausing in thought, she did not even think to ask how much this would pay to which she sighed, yet tried to think positive as the ad mentioned they were giving a free place to live with this job. With this in mind, a live-in maid gig was not something she was very familiar with.

In any case, she was not passionate about wanting to remain a teacher, and honestly, she disliked it as she would rather have been something higher up in an Anatomy field since her fascination with the human body exploded with her study of art, a side hobby she never let see the light of day. Her insecurities kept that a secret to herself alone so she figured she would pursue something, more money-making, with her studies.

Another two or three or five checks in the mirror and she finally felt satisfied with her look with her dark heels, modest pantyhose, neutral turtleneck, and tight skirt. - Those workouts really paid off when she got off her ass to do them. - She made her way into the living room, then gathered up her purse and phone, looking at the screen to see no notifications. Fairly early still, but her excitement was pushing her forward, actually-- nerves, anxiety, excitement, and hunger. - Oh yeah, food. - Her stomach made sure to remind her with a gurgle and she looked at her kitchen with a sigh, she could not afford her favorite frappes anymore so that was out the window. Opening the fridge to discover she was out of yogurts too which meant so much for breakfast and she picked out a bottle of water. - Boringly delicious and better than nothing.

Her apartment complex was what you would call... cheap, with an elevator that no longer worked, though she was used to it, her calves burning by the time she reached the last step. High heels still made going downstairs a pain. That made her think of how housing worked with the new job, would she be moving fully to the place she was a live-in maid-- ugh, she hated saying that to herself; the fact she was about to get a job as a  **maid** . Her brain was dirtier than she would like with only thoughts of the less-than-innocent version and this was not some anime. - Even though those maid outfits were adorable.

Getting to her bike propped up on a rack, she set her water bottle in the holder to move to the back of her bike which had saddle bags that she dropped the chains into as well as her purse. It was obvious she used the thing for everything, even groceries. Her phone remained in her hand to slip on her handlebars and select her GPS maps that she, thankfully, had inputted the address before she went to bed. The King of monsters really was bad at naming things with the street being New Road causing her to snort in amusement, regardless, she could not help but realize that meant it was one of the new build areas of the city. A nice area even that she was already riding down the bike lane of with ease, her communal bike being fast and durable; she always praised it as the best thing she had ever bought. Learning to ride in a skirt took a while, though she was natural at it now, riding down the streets at this hour with only a slight rush for people going to work. Most of the traffic was much earlier in the morning or in the night time, monsters preferred the night, for some reason that she never thought to look up or ask anyone and, well, who could she ask; she never spoke to monsters despite seeing them every day. To prove the point as she was sitting at a red light she peered over towards a pair of rabbit monsters giggling and making their way down the sidewalk. Really no different than humans except the way they looked. All things considered, she had to admit that a lot of monsters were adorable, well, except that scary skeleton on the news last night causing her shoulders to shiver in fear at the thought.

A loud honk spooked her with the light green and the car behind her trying to turn where she was sitting in the way, making her grumble and push off to continue down the bike lane. It was not until she glanced up did she notice that she passed by the infamous monster-ran University. This part of town was getting into the monster half of the city and there were decorations strung up with tables laid out. - Must be for the celebration. - In short, very few humans lived in this area, the monster population far greater that built butterflies in her to stares coming her way. Essentially, humans are a rare sight this part of the city and attention was one of her greatest fears, she just wanted to get to where she had to go to get this interview over. 

Suddenly, her body spiked at the reflection, she was heading to an interview in the most monster dense part of the city.  _ Do not panic, just have to be as polite as possible not to piss them off and become dinner... er, wait, monsters do not eat humans _ , her thoughts floated to the news last night, that skeleton surely looked like he would eat humans with teeth like that. A tremble went through her again as she peddled a little faster, but that was a bad idea as the light ahead turned red and she gasped, having to slam on her breaks that just about sent the bike spiraling. The weight of the saddles on it made the bars hard to control to which they twisted and she could feel herself losing control of her bike. Of all the days, while she was in a skirt no less, she just had to lose control of her bike. 

Before what she thought would be the impact of the cement, everything came to a sudden halt, an iron grip held on the handles. There were tears prickling at the edges of her eyes when she finally had the strength to open them, her face was paled from the near crash moment as she had no idea how she was still upright.

"Whoa there, punk! As cool as it would have been to see a bike go flying, it's not really something you wanna do here, fuhaha," a boisterous voice broke the tension, yet had a lisp to it. First, she looked down at the handlebars where a pair of bright blue webbed hands clasped, holding her bike steady. Whoever this was had stopped her bike outright which meant they were quite strong, this was unbelievable, but the reason why slapped her in the face when she finally looked up.

An aquatic-type monster with brilliant deep-set blue skin which held a scale texture and she was tall too, easily a head higher than her, but currently hunched over the bike's front wheel. Bright, slitted yellow eyes watched the stunned human with amusement on the tip of her tongue to the situation she saved, and speaking of a mouth, there was a row of sharp teeth set in a high grin only covered partially by pieces of red hair that hung over the side of her face; the rest pulled back in a ponytail that the human could not help but marvel at. The monster's fins at the sides of her head gave an animated twitch to the staring she was receiving so she wiggled the bike handles as if showing it was okay to take them now. In turn, the human scrambled to do so and gave a bow of her head in sorry, feeling as though she may have accidentally hit her in her near crash!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I... didn't see you, I, uhm," the words came out in a near-shout that got heads to turn, as a result, the monster blinked then let out a laugh with a few steps to standing beside the bike. Suddenly, a hard smack on the human's back made her jolt up in surprise.

"Fuhaha! You didn't hit me, punk! I stopped your bike before you went face first into the road," she said in a condescending manner that made the human feel the harsh burn on her cheeks but wait, she had saved her? No doubt, this monster was agile if she had done that with how fast the bike had been going, but the human tried not to blurt out questions that would probably insult her. Instead, she nodded softly, still shaking from the jarring experience.

"T.. t-thank you, I'm sorry," she muttered nervously, continuing to apologize that awarded her another swift slap on her back. - Oh great, now she was probably sweating through her work clothes with nerves, regretting not putting on more antiperspirant while the monster only continued to chuckle at the situation.

"Yeah, well, don't go messing the road with your face. Keep that to the professionals, so see ya around, nerd!"

With that comment, the monster turned to break out into a light jog. - What a random experience that was. - The human bit on her lower lip as she wanted to say thanks more or even ask a name, but the monster was already too far away, swift with her jog being faster than she could even run.

A few bystanders were still staring her way as she took the moment to push hastily off, seeing the light green.  _ Okay well, one daily embarrassment out of the way _ , she guessed and this was not going to make the interview any easier, glancing down at her phone to see she was close now to her destination, yet this was strange. The buildings were thinning out and there were even considerable patches of open field, furthermore, the road was still newly paved. - Must be land they were preparing to put new homes as in some of the spots were construction and it was not long until she spotted a grand abode outlined in an intimidating fencing structure. -  _ No, that could not be right _ , she thought while coming up on a mansion by the looks of it, slowing down just as her GPS beeps indicating she arrived at her destination; the front gates looming over her. - Huh, was that a dent in one of the bars, not as well kept as she thought it would be.

This was stupid, there was no way there would be a shitty ad in the newspaper to be a maid at a place like this! She felt so hoaxed now, so this had to be a prank and she came all this way just to become a laugh to some rich kid or guy bored with all his money. No, she was not turning back, even more so she was going to give this little shit a piece of her mind. - In conclusion, she rolled her bike up to the gate and glared daggers towards the intercom, the camera inside moving to the motion. - Wait, it moved? Did someone already see her? Now her anxiety came back that doused her anger.

"State your business, human," came a professional toned voice, even a hint of disgust. It reminded her of her professor back in college, he was always over analyzing an-- she was overthinking into rambles again, so to break the thoughts she took in the tone, it had a harsh static attached it that she chalked up to the intercom system. - What was with all these interesting voices she has been encountering and did he just call her human? It felt a little degrading even though it was true.

"Okay, I know this probably some sick joke. Someone told me a  _ Sans _ is letting me in for an interview, but there's no wa--"

**_BEEP!_ ** Her ranting at the intercom was cut short by the jarring sound of the gate opening, the entrance rolling open to leaving her frozen in doubt. Her mind raced,  _ This could not be real. This was not serious _ .

"Proceed, human, I have no patience for your dilemma."

Then the camera stopped its motion showing that he had stopped paying attention to her. Her eyebrows scrunched while she stood there, dumbfounded. The hesitation caused the intercom to light back up with a firmer presence.

"Must I  **assign** someone out there to aid you? I hold no tolerance for games."

That scared her at the impatience of this gate guard, so she jolted as if on command to roll her bike through the entrance. It shut immediately after she was in leaving her staring out on a grand front yard, long pathway, and even a fountain, for fuck sake; damn rich people and their nice homes. This was a beautiful mansion made of stone that nearly reminded her of a modern day castle, although there was a broken window or two, and something odd... going on in the yard with patches of lawn missing. - Guess it was not as well kept as she initially thought, but the high walls hid that well. - She took note of some of the vehicles, a red convertible, a blue scooter, a couple of motorcycles, and-- she decided to stop trying to analyze them. 

Next, she was stuck with being unsure where to put her bike.  _ Do I really need to lock it up with the heavy-duty security around this place? Probably not _ , debating with herself, she did not even see something to lean it on while she rolled it over to the curb to just kinda... lay there she guessed. It hurt her to leave it in such a state, but she had no choice, proceeding to dig her purse out and grab her phone.

She gazed up at the grand building and her nervous thoughts halted her in front of the door as she was wondering if she should have called to tell him she was there. He did not even indicate what time to be there and she just assumed early morning like regular people. Groaning at her predicament she peered at the doorbell, hesitantly pressing it...

Nothing happened, so she pressed it again only to be greeted with no sound once more in confirmation. - Was it broken, oh come on, she did not want to have to knock. - This was not helping her one bit, not only that but she was suddenly thinking this really was a job opportunity and not some rich bastard toying with her! What was she thinking, she should just leave... instead, she found herself knocking embarrassingly.

"who's there," came a familiar voice she recognized from the phone. Oh geesh, it was deeper and so much clearer in person was her immediate thought and this bothered her more than she wanted to admit at the blush present on her cheeks to hearing it. In any case, she was not expecting someone to already be at the door-- wait a minute, how was he already at the door if she just knocked; that bastard.

"If this is some kinda joke, I'm leaving!"

All she could hear was laughter in return that she got an ear full on the phone last night. - Okay, that just about confirmed this had to be a joke while her shoulders bristled.

"Listen here you little shit! I am not pu--"

"heh, lady, not like knock knock jokes? tsk, that will make working here  **no laughing matter** ," he spoke again... from behind her! She jumped, letting out a soft squeak of surprise while she turned to press her back against the door. Thoughts jostled in her head,  _ How the fuck? What? Excuse me, what? _ Despite her panic of having someone suddenly behind her, she looked at the man... er, monster.

He must have been an inch or so shorter than her as she stared down at the milky white skull of... a skeleton monster. Her fear kicked in with the memory of last night's news report. Just before she went screaming, she took in that this was not this same one. He was still just as stocky with a much rounder head than any human skull and he was staring up at her with white pricks of light in his eye sockets. The wide grin of his held no razor-sharp fangs, rather, they looked relatively flat, so she assumed skeleton monsters must look really similar cause she could swear this one only had the minor differences from the one on television. She had never seen him before, but this was surely Professor Sans Serif.

The clearing of a nonexistent throat broke her gaze. A reflection caught her eyes as he pulled a pair of glasses from his lab coat to set on his face, but  _ wait, how was it staying on his face? _ The temptation to lean over to stare at the sides of his skull was strong and instead, she raised her eyebrow which he took notice of.

"magic," he answered her internal question that she did not even say; it must have been a subject he was used to dealing with and he even had his hands pulled from his pockets to wiggle in front of her. Those were very much skeletal hands that she was stuck staring at now, not to mention, he just spoke without his mouth moving; at least not in the traditional sense as it just sorta twitched, the teeth remaining shut tight. In conclusion, she was really staring down this guy. - So much for trying not to be rude. - Upon noticing this, she grew flustered. Her way of pushing it aside being a tug on her skirt and moving some of her hair from her face that had fallen down on her ride there.

"S.. s-sorry! I didn't mean to stare, I, uhm..." - Do not say you have not met monsters. Do not say it. You will not get this job! Wait, was there even a job? Okay, now her eyes narrowed at him in suspicion. - "... do you think I'm dumb?"

The question caught the skeleton off guard and he blinked at her as if scrutinizing what she was asking, or actually, he was just analyzing her in general. Ever since he put his glasses on he was staring her up and down as much as she was him to which he shrugged at, then stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, slowly closing one eye to peer up at her.

"i surely hope not, lady. gotta have a bit of smarts to be  **bone-i-fied** for this position," he chuckled out that she caught on to after a moment; that was a fucking pun and it took everything she could not to laugh at the dumb joke, but she still cracked a smile that he remarked right away. "oh, ya do have a  **funny bone** ? good, you're hired."

She froze at the comment thinking he was not being serious.  _ Oh come on, this was a joke _ , she mentally groaned and slumped her shoulders, she was done with being toyed around like this. The skeleton noticed the shift in her mood, making him study her closer. Unaware of his sympathy, she took a step forward to prod a finger right at his chest.

"What do you mean? Even if this was some real job, we never even had an interview," she scolded him while her finger met the soft fabric of his turtleneck and then the hard bone under. Pulling her finger away quickly after realizing she touched a monster, she huffed as he looked unphased by her reactions, but was drinking them all in the same while that wide grin only grew higher.

"yeah, interview happened, you missed it. i just had to  **view your interior** ," he spoke charismatically as it was his turn to prod her, commenting further with a drop in his pitch, "if you're done, name's sans, sans the skele--"

A gasping squeak erupted from her to him reaching out and jabbing one of those skeleton fingers to the middle of her chest. She pulled away in a hurry only not to realize the door behind her was open, her heel catching on the door frame before she could react. Expecting to land on the floor she instead was met with something solid, though softly lined.

"whoa now, princess, fallin' fah me already, hah," came a voice she did not think could get any deeper, but she could have sworn the skeleton in front of her, introduced as Sans, had said it. No, this had a much deeper vibration to it, actually, it was not a vibration, he had a growl at the end of his statement.

"red, don't scare the new maid," the more familiar tone rang out from Sans in front of her, but what had she fallen against and who was  _ Red _ ? She should probably thank him for catching her before she fell, but instead, the remark about scaring her froze her actions.

Sans' face in front of her resembled genuine concerned as if was worried about this outcome and on cue, a rough grip captured her arms, the form behind her squeezing her. The action was so strong she felt her shoulders scrunch together and a rib cage press into her back, the zipper of a jacket digging into her side. Darting her eyes to the side she saw skeletal hands on her and noted they were different, the tips were sharp and it hurt while they dug into her skin.

"if i was wantin' ta scares her i wouldn'ta fuckin' waited so long fah yous two slow asses ta come in," the one behind her harshly spat out to which she tried to pull away and be able to turn around to see what she was dealing with, but the moment she did she cried out in pain. The hands caging her arms were like iron and moving just dug the claws deeper. The monster behind her, as she could probably guess, was another skeleton and he panted out at her squirming, "oh, a screamah! yous gots ta let me play wit' dis one."

Thankfully, her arms were somehow not bleeding, but they stung harshly, red marks now where the claws had slipped along her skin. Her eyes closed with tears at the edge of them before she silently pleaded to Sans stepping closer to her, a tension arose between the two monsters over her shoulder, and she finally felt the release of the grip. The moment she was free she stumbled away from both of them first seeing worry plastered all over Sans as if he was trying to calm a stray animal, but now she got a good look at this  _ Red _ . Her face paled to the fact it was the dangerous monster from the news report! Although he was... smaller in person only slightly taller than Sans next to him, height a bit of an intimidation factor for her. It quite frankly almost broke her panic, holding back the internal amusement especially since he had done a number on her arms. In fact, she flinched, reaching to rub her arms. - Hold on, she could not think about that right now with a dangerous monster in front of her! - Fright rose in her face and she was ready to bolt any moment even with this skeleton, Red, now winking at her while his attention went up and down her form like eyeing a piece of meat; that gold tooth glinting in the light of the room. As if noticing her rising alarm, Sans stepped forward towards her. 

"calm down, he won't hurt'cha... again," he said calmly, trying to soothe her while bringing his observations over to the red marks on both her arms, yet he did not touch her, which was a smart move. The marks were not deep or bleeding to which he let out a sigh, relieved that it was not serious and then cast a glare back at Red.

"'ey buddy, i woulds if she wanted et," Red remarked casually, shrugging as he began to pick his teeth, which did not move when he spoke either, but now was not the time for looking at little details, this stress it was too much, a pressure welling up in her chest. Such a strange sensation coursed through her. - Why was she feeling light headed? - Her heart began to thump out of her control in confusion as she held her chest. A buzzing static flowed in her head as if trying to lull her to sleep, but all it was doing was suffocating her. The tips of her fingers grew a concerning tingle and she felt a pressing sunken in sensation at her cheeks. This was not normal, yet from an outside view, this appeared to be stress building into causing a panic attack...

Darkness came over her vision as the last thing she saw was both skeletons shocked and then her world spun.  **THUD!**

"what didcha do, red," Sans choked out, so surprised by the actions that he did not even try to catch Patricia now crumpled on the floor. He threw an accusing glare at the other skeleton who was just as astounded causing him to make his way over to peer down at her, a genuine look of puzzlement on his face, red-tinted sweat dripping down his skull; maybe he was not as evil as he looked.

"i din't fuckin' do it! why yous blamin' me?!"

He was actually uncertain if he really did cause it or not. Trusting the response with a grain of salt, Sans knelt down to check her pulse to make sure she did not just die on them. Although still calming down at a fast pace, her heart was beating and a glance down at her chest gave him the relief of her soul being fine too. Red himself narrowed his sockets towards her, a skeptical sniff before shaking his head, noticing something off about her fainting that the other missed. A lingering magic that was so subtle it vanished before Sans even got to her.

"so much for getting her here peacefully, so help me get her to the couch," Sans requested with a drawl in his tone of apprehension and made his way to grip at her shoulders, waiting for help. A minute passed before he looked up to see Red still standing there just picking at his teeth that caused him to ask again, "getting real bone tired down here."

Red sighed, slowly making his way over as he bent down to grab at each of her calves, his claws causing light rips in her pantyhose that he seemed unaware of. The two skeletons lifted her up and took her over to a cozy looking corner couch that could easily seat a dozen people. There was a tug in their walk as Sans looked up to see why Red had slowed down to find him staring down with a chortle on his breath while he held her legs on either side of him and spread them in her pencil skirt to get a nice view of everything; black lace and all. Sans rolled his eye lights before he pulled back to get Red's attention that he reluctantly complied to and they set her down. Red tossed her legs carelessly leaving her in an embarrassing position and stealing another good look and, once again, Sans found himself annoyed by the actions, making sure to reposition her to avoid an awkward wake-up. In contrast, Red just bellowed a laugh and headed out of the room, not wanting to deal with the mess of the situation.

Running a hand along his skull, Sans had his own blue tinted sweat dripping from his forehead. He thought of how much of a mess this really was and took the glasses from his face to rub at the space between his sockets as he waited for Patricia to awaken, however long that was going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	2. Blue Cheese Tacos

"I DEMAND TO ATTEND TO THE HUMAN!! WHY CAN I NOT? THIS OUR FIRST HUMAN SINCE COMING HERE!! I, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS, MUST SEE HER, I HEARD SHE FAINTED. YOU ARE FULLY AWARE MY AMAZING TACOS CAN HELP HER!"

A boisterous noise jarred her from her sleep, it was another voice that sounded like Sans, but this one was so much more blatant and not as deep; so very loud in fact. Grunting in annoyance she rolled over on her side, not hearing the thudding of excited boots approaching, her eyes shut tightly still regaining her thought process. - Why did she have the nagging feeling someone was staring at her? Huh, why was she asleep? What happened... - Fear and panic began to burst through her to the thoughts rushing through her,  **_The monsters. The mansion. The job interview!_ **

"yo, bro, chill, let the gal sleep," came a much different voice than she had been hearing all this time, the pitch higher, but he sounded so tired and drawn out in his speech; it was even nasally as she heard the puff of breath. He must have been smoking cause she could smell it hit her senses causing her throat to close into wanting to cough already, not something she was used to being around. With that she jolted up, her eyes coming open in panic as she gave a silent scream to remembering where she was.

Her eyes met the familiar skull of... Sans? It sure looked like him, but his outfit was changed, so she guessed she was out long enough for him to change. Now he was wearing a light gray and blue uh, well, armor, the soft padding and costume-like structure of it made her think it was a Halloween get-up. Bold blue gloves and boots adorned the rest of it as well as an equally colored bandana draped around his neck tied in the back. This was the first time she had seen the exposed arms of a skeletal-type monster making her aware they were indeed made of bone, just thicker; it was so interesting to actually see in person and felt weirdly intrusive.

Okay, why was he staring at her so intently, was there something on her face? - He was even leaned forward and bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently. It went over her head that he was shorter, but not the fact his eye lights were now bright blue stars pulsing at her. She was sure there were just white dots there before, but perhaps they could change what was in their eye sockets; if so, that is kind of interesting to note. A million questions were going through her head as she felt dizzy, her hand coming up to her forehead as she clenched it; should not have gotten up that fast.

"HUMAN HUMAN!! I, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS, SHAL--"

The hyper Sans paused as a different skeletal hand placed on his shoulder pad to pull him back some. Trying to rationalize the situation, she peered up to the hand and its long fingers, an orange hoodie sleeve attached to it while her eyes trailed up.

Okay, not all skeletons are the same and this one was taller even while slouched, he dwarfed the other by a head easily while his attire screamed casual. Light brown cargo shorts present and she could not see his shoes from this angle, but his skull was certainly not stout like the others, more narrow and his jaw long set. Where Sans appeared squashed down human anatomy wise, this one was stretched out and his eye sockets were just dark, far more narrow, animated even as he stared down at her. A cigarette held between his seemingly flat teeth. Some of the ashes fluttering down with a shift of his jaw.

"let her breath, she doesn't seem well," the taller one spoke out while plucking his cigarette with his free hand. - His mouth actually moved! - Those teeth were not entirely flat as they appeared, dully pointed canines at the edges before he closed them back to look as though they were never there. She will never get used to monster's magic bodies at this rate.

"What the fuck is going on, uhm... Sans was it?"

She finally croaked out some form of a question with strained breath, doing her best to ease herself. Sans gave a gasp as if she had just slapped him and suddenly wiggling a gloved finger at her. Those stars now turned into simple blue circles, another circle wrapped around those and a black dot in the middle that was transfixed on her with a stern nature. A unique set of eye lights among those she had seen thus far and animated to boot, but what did she do to earn such a look though?

"HUMAN!! LANGUAGE! EVEN IF YOU ARE SICK, AND SOMEHOW KNOW THE NAME OF THE MAGNIFICANT SANS WITHOUT PROPER INTRODUCTION, THAT IS NO REASON TO BE A POTTY MOUTH!"

Sans tsk'ed at her scoldingly, she was not expecting that while she brought her hands up to her face before she remembered she had make-up on. It probably smeared anyway as she only rubbed at her cheeks, her skin still had the clamminess of sweat probably from recovering after the panic attack that she did not even remember why she got.

"bro, go fix some grub for her," the taller one hummed which sparked the other up with energy, causing him to jump with excitement and nodding like an overactive child before he stormed off. Following his motions let her take in just where she was, the grand front room that was off to the side from the entrance of this mansion and across from the couch was a wall with a swinging door Sans just went through making them nearly fly off their hinges from the force he gave on his exit. The rest of the area was mostly closed in as there was just a portion opened that showed an extravagant set of stairs, both upstairs and downstairs.

Snapping her back to reality was the remaining skeleton sitting down next to her on the couch lazily. He was far too close for comfort as she scooted away from him, sitting up in her spot while her eyes narrowed his direction. There was no way she was trusting these guys right now and speaking of untrusting, where was that Red guy? A dread squeezed at her chest, lucky she was alive and unharmed somehow before a lingering silence passed only broken by a snap in front of her to bring her attention to the one beside her. Gazing back up at him she was not sure where to even start, the long digits that had just somehow snapped in front of her face now retreating to stuff into orange hoodie pockets.

"your sans is in the lab if you're wonderin'," he explained, leaving her just more perplexed, "heard ya met red then blacked out, don't blame ya, somethin' wrong with that dude," a shift of his sockets towards the stairs as if keeping an eye out, "my bro couldn't wait, like we were told to, before wakin' ya."

A concern crept up in to tighten her breath to thinking these monsters were strangers, she could not be so buddy casual with them. Admittedly, she thinks she was hired by one of them, but there is no way she was going to work here now, not when there was a literal murderer in the house... she actually could not remember why he was dangerous, trying to remember the news report. Now, she actually recalled that no one had died, but there was a riot and they were warned to stay away from the monster. Exaggerations in the news were not helping her right now.

"Isn't that skeleton monster a criminal? Why are you so relaxed," she spouted out the first thing she could think of to which he gave her a dumbfounded stare before she realized the error of her wording. There were a few skeleton monsters in this house apparently including this guy, and, well, that probably confused him, but he shrugged as if understanding what she was talking about.

"eh, red? yeah, probably, but he ain't gonna hurt'cha," he answered so calmly that it nearly eased her just hearing it. On remembering that, she looked down at her arms to see the red marks were gone. Confusion painting her expression to thinking they easily would have stayed there for more than a few hours. - How long had she been out? - Touching her arms she was bewildered before the sound of pots and pans banging in another part of the main floor startled her, she did not want to know what that was.

"I... I d-don't understand," she questioned and stated in the same remark, a heavy hand on the top of her head broke her from the thought. She noticed that the monster beside her was patting her? - What was she, a dog? - Still, it was regretfully calming as she allowed the comfort even when his bones got caught in her hair, her bun was ruined anyway. Feeling his fingers through her hair gave her a chill, he was cold.

"chill, gal. ain'tcha the new maid or somethin'? name's papyrus, but those here call me stretch i guess," he began to speak, although pausing for a time as if talking at all was exhausting him. If he had not removed his hand from her, she was close to swatting it away. A strand of her hair got caught on his phalanges only momentarily, she needed to remember skeletal hands do not mesh well with hair, it made her wince. Stuffing both of his hands into his hoodie pockets he eyed the swinging door across from them and continued, "the one gettin' the grub is my bro, sans, but not the sans you met. just call him blueberry if ya want."

The more he revealed the more perturbed she got. - They seemed to have nicknames, were all skeletons named the same or something? - Taking deep breaths she tried to calm down and take in what he told her, smoothing down her skirt. She sat modestly on the couch, her hands fidgeting to the thought that she did not want to introduce herself, remembering she had not even given Sans (uh, her Sans) her name yet; after all, he never asked.

"New maid? You have a literal criminal living here and I don't even know what just happened, didn't I faint? There's no wa **EEK--** "

The swinging doors in front of them burst open, cutting off her words with a startled squeak, nearly causing her to smack the skeleton next to her. He did not budge at all as he seemed almost as though he would sink into the couch any second he was so relaxed.

"I HAVE RETURNED WITH MY BEST CREATION YET OF GLORIOUS TACOS! FEAST YOUR EYES AS YOU FEAST FOR YOUR MOUTH, HUMAN!! MWEH HEH!!"

The smaller Sans, that she guessed she was supposed to call Blueberry, stood there proudly with a tray full of, well, tacos. - How did he make them so fast? He was only gone maybe five minutes top... - They were also shimmering and there was a drawled chuckle coming from beside her as Blueberry approached with food, holding it out towards her eagerly. The way he stared at her expecting her to take one was adorable while the stars reappeared and spun in his eye sockets. - Why did it feel like something scary was staring at her though? - A glimpse to her side of the taller skeleton, seemingly wanting to go by Stretch, only resulted in him there with his eye sockets closed.

Shaking her head of malicious thoughts she saw the plate of tacos being nudged closer to her and reaching forward, she took one and looked it over. Well, it appeared to be a regular old taco with a corn shell, the only off settling thing was the shimmer of it like it had glitter, but maybe it was monster food; she had never had the luxury of trying such a thing. Just having the food in front of her kicked her stomach into remembering she skipped breakfast. She needed some answers, but her hunger steered her towards this seemingly innocent offer.

Cupping one hand under to catch crumbs she took the first bite. . .

_ That was glitter... _

Instantly her face scrunched as she realized that this was not monster food and the grainy texture cut into her taste buds, probably her tongue too. - And was the meat still pink? Is that... blue cheese instead of cheddar? - So many tastes going on in her mouth she did not know where to begin, ready to spit it out, but when she looked forward she saw the expectant excitement across Blueberry's face, not a hint of amusement as he appeared pretty serious in his offer. Damn her social awkwardness, this was not the same Sans she met in the beginning so she could not rightfully be mean to this one, he was so innocent. Her more skeptical mind wondered if this was a joke, yet she managed to swallow what she had in her mouth out of guilt and glimpse down at the sizeable taco left. A distressed cough escaping her to a piece of glitter stuck at the back of it.

As if sensing her dismay, or rather probably expecting it, she felt a bone hand on her shoulder.

"bro, she's probably not in the best shape to eat all that. humans and their digestion whatever takes loads of effort."

The opinion from Stretch broke her thoughts and saved her as she honestly was close to accusing them of a prank before Blueberry began to pout. - How he could pout without lips was a sight to behold nearly thinking their faces were made of some sorta softer material. - Nodding to that reasoning, Blueberry reached to take the rest of the taco from her and set it back on the tray.

"WELL ALRIGHT, BUT ONCE YOU ARE RECOVERED, HUMAN, I EXPECT YOU TO FULLY EXPERIENCE MY CULINARY EXPERTISE. THEY ARE THE BEST ITEM OF FOODS YOU HAVE EVER TASTED, RIGHT?!"

Blueberry illustrated his words with mirth, posing dramatically. Her mouth opened to comment on it before she felt a tightening on her shoulder, the hand still clasped there she had forgotten. - Why did it feel like a threat? Wait, these two were brothers if the term  _ bro _ was anything to go by and both being skeletons. - Watching Stretch beside her she saw his sockets staring her down and it was terrifying before he motioned towards Blueberry expectantly. There was no way she could say anything bad after that display while she directed her attention back.

"Y-yeah, they are. The ingredients are... high quality," she said softly, not lying as she was pretty sure that blue cheese alone was not very cheap. The hand on her shoulder lifted away as if she had made the right choice before Stretch relaxed back on the couch.

"BROTHER!! IF THE HUMAN CANNOT EAT RIGHT NOW THEN YOU MUST FINISH THESE MASTERPIECES FOR HER! I WILL NOT HAVE FOOD GOING TO WASTE AS IT MUST BE CONSUMED IMMEDIATELY!"

Blueberry turned his attentiveness towards his brother as he made his way over to him. Phew, at least that mess was away from her now, but she could not help but watch the sibling display.

"nah, don't -got the stomach for it-,  _ nyeheh _ ," he sunk further into the couch with his excuse, "'sides, i'm nappin'," Stretch lazily proclaimed, his eye sockets shutting again and he was settled down into his seemingly sleep. Blueberry stomped his feet in frustration at this answer. - Oh, so he could say no without any repercussions?

"YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY NOT NAPPING! YOU ARE AWAKE CAUSE I'M TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW, I AM NOT BLIND, BROTHER," Blueberry revealed, now holding a taco out towards his brother, the contents spilling on the couch and floor. Now that she really paid attention, this place was not in the best shape as far as being clean went, so if she really did work here she was going to have her work cut out for her.

"sorry, bro, can't hear ya while nappin'.  _ zzz _ . you should give the human a tour of her new workplace, instead.  _ zzz _ ," Stretch offhandedly suggested while pointing his thumb her way. - Oh, that fucker. - She tensed up in her spot at Blueberry's attention locking to her and with haste, he shoved the tray of tacos onto his brother's lap, then was over to Patricia’s side in a snap. Literally, as she could have sworn she heard a ding noise and he was right in front of her fast enough to startle her; his gloved hands already grabbing at her, yanking her to stand up.

"HUMAN!! ALLOW ME TO BE THE FIRST, AND BEST, TO SHOW YOU AROUND! OF COURSE, THIS PLACE ISN'T AS GOOD AS PAPS AND MY HOME, HOWEVER, THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS THAT HAPPEN!!"

He leaked of absolute energy and merriment, there was no way she was going to keep up with him while she was forced to stand or have her arms pulled right out of their sockets, a whine escaping her lips. - Not well enough to eat the tacos, but well enough to go walking around a mansion? - She wanted so bad to argue with the logic of the situation but got up instead. Now on her feet, she took in that this skeleton was indeed shorter than even Sans had been. Huh, there really was a physical difference between the two as she tried not to think of the fact his jaw was just barely above cleavage height to her. Clearing her throat to her scandalous thoughts and light blush, she felt a tug on her hand, a gloved one still firmly wrapped around it.

"C-can we go slow at least," her voice softly came out, not realizing she inadvertently agreed to be showing around her  _ workplace _ . - What was she doing and where was the one who hired her? She needed to talk to him and get the hell out of this mansion before it killed her. - Interrupting her thoughts was realizing Blueberry was turned towards her while he looked up at her curiously. He really had an overly observant personality with the searching expression he held.

"HUMAN? DO YOU HAVE A FEVER? YOU ARE VERY RED AND IF YOU ARE THAT ILL WE CAN TAKE YOU TO THE LAB! THAT IS WHERE WE GO WHEN WE GET HURT, MWEH," he concluded and began to tug her along before she could respond. - Was she still blushing from her scandalous thoughts? Well, that was embarrassing, besides that, she realized what he was doing. - She did not want to go to some lab... actually, Stretch said that Sans was in the Lab did he not? Alright, she will go there, her shoulders slumped and she allowed herself to be dragged along, not that she had a choice regardless.

"What sorta place is this, anyway? Are you sure it's safe?"

Her questions boiled out as she wondered if she would get better answers from this monster, in fact, that made her think further. Going back to the skeleton that went by Red, did he not live there too since Blueberry mentioned him and Stretch having a home away from this one. Perhaps she should not assume things right off the bat just yet.

"OH THIS IS SAn--" he paused with a scrunch of his expression, "other me's home," clearing his throat he continued, "HE INVITED PAPS AND ME HERE TO AID IN HIS WORK AS WELL AS HELP US WITH SOME," glancing to the side his walk faltered, "things," he lit back up, "BACK HOME! IT HAS BEEN SO FUN AND WE CAN ALWAYS GO BACK HOME ANY TIME, SO PAPS LETS US STAY OVER."

He actually gave decent detail with happiness radiating from him. How was he so joyful compared to the others she has met, it was like night and day. She got a look around as they went around the staircase to go down a level.

"S-so it's safe," she trembled out the inquiry, noticing he did not answer that part of her questions, concentrating on trying not to trip since she could barely keep up with the bounding down the stairs. Upon realizing her struggle, Blueberry stopped mid-step and without skipping a beat he turned to her then released her hand which caused her to stumble. She did not panic until she felt a hard arm yank her legs out from under her with her upper back landing on an equal feeling limb, her hands torn from the railing as well as any comfort she had in the situation.

"MWEH! I EXPERTLY NOTICED THAT YOU WERE STRUGGLING SO I, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS, SHALL AID YOU IN GETTING TO THE LAB QUICKLY," he bounced her some in his arms, "YOU MUST BE VERY ILL TO NOT BE ABLE TO TACKLE SUCH AN EASY TASK AS STAIRS. NO NEED TO THANK ME, I KNOW I AM QUITE CLEVER."

He proudly asserted himself as he posed gallantly on the stairs with her bridal style in his arms. The finesse of this monster was incredible, but that was beside the point! - Why was he carrying her?! - Her hands clung to his armor for dear life, not trusting him to carry her steady, yet his hold was both considerate and firm. With that, he began to descend the stairs without hearing her protest. It looked quite silly with him being smaller than her, one of her heels thumping the railing. At least height wise he was, he was stouter than her.

"P-put me down! I can walk," she cried out, but it was falling on deaf ears (he did not even have ears) and he had already made up his mind while she wiggled at the notably embarrassing scene. Her face was flared up red as she tried to tug her skirt down modestly then hide her face with her hands, toes curling so that her heels would not fall off when she lightly kicked her legs.

What a long day this was becoming.

"DO NOT FRET, HUMAN!! YOU ARE COMPLETELY SAFE HERE BOTH TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION AND CERTAINLY ASSURE THAT I, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS, WILL NOT LET ANY HARM BEFALL YOU," he reassured her softly, or least as gently as his powerful tone could be, which, oddly during her fluster of distress at the situation, sent a calming reassurance through her. - Was it really safe? This was so jarring she did not know what to believe. - Moving her hands after a soft whine she realized how far they had gone, now going down a dimmer lit hallway. This must have been a lower level of the mansion as they approached a set of double doors at which Blueberry paused to peer at and then to his hands being full carrying her. A predicament surging across his adorable face that prompted his smile to falter.

"Y-you can just set me dow **AA--** "

Her attempt of aiding got cut off immediately by a jolting motion as instead of just setting her down to open the door he raised a booted foot up and kicked the doors with full force. A cracking sound followed the deafening bang, the act nearly causing her to fling out of his arms, however, he held tight as the doors flew open. Skeletons were much stronger than she expected.

"MWEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Blueberry laughed arrogantly as they were met with a blinding white light. In fact, the entire room was so pristine and white it hurt to look at, and now the shining clean floor was littered with chunks of wood; the walls of the same clean ivory and, well, it looked like a literal lab. There were expensive devices whirling with energy, research lined cabinets, and tables that had documents or chemicals strung about them. - Her inner Biologist was fluttering like a school girl.

That was not what she should be focusing on as her eyes went up to a brilliant blue light that overshadowed the room, it was so intense she could have sworn the rest of area turned dark. Just in front of them was terrifying to put mildly, a massive floating animal skull that held a mouth full of what looked more akin to plasma than light, some of it smoking out between jagged teeth or dripping down to the floor.

The jaw opening and aimed right at them!

She shrieked, all her senses going into panic mode, but then the menacing object vanished with a fast swish noise, light returning to the room. Blueberry was more startled by her scream she gave out then the giant whatever the fuck that was in front of them seconds ago. Her face buried into his soft shoulder pad, her whole body trembling and if the events earlier were enough to make her faint, this surely would too, yet she held her consciousness.

"HEY!! YOU FRIGHTENED THE HUMAN! THAT WAS NOT THE LEAST BIT ACCEPTABLE SO APOLOGIZE TO HER!"

Blueberry huffed as his scolding was towards another monster in the room that she did not even see, the weak feeling still present while she rested her head on the arm of the one carrying her, sights on the ceiling, she was doing her best to calm down. - Maybe this was a nightmare? It really felt like one with how things were turning out, so can she just wake up already?

"oh, heya, didn't see ya there. thought you were anothe-- er," that was Sans' voice before it cut off on realizing that Patricia was there, not finishing that statement and instead, clearing his non-existent throat. His glasses were not present on his face, tucked in his coat pocket, he must not need them all the time.

"I wanna go home," she uttered softly to herself, hoping neither monster could hear her but Blueberry did with how close he was still, causing him to furrow where his eyebrows would be. - Questioning how they made facial expressions so well was lost to her at this point.

"Are you positive the Human is here to work? She appears not to be having fun and you assured us that you would not force anyone to stay here if they did not want to be," Blueberry's voice came out quieter, serious sounding even and directed towards Sans, that was the softest she had heard him speak so far. There was a hard glance between the two, then Sans shrugged, pointing his finger down as if to direct Patricia to be set down. A pause befell in reaction, the hold on her tightening in a protective manner which gave her an uneasy feeling. Reluctantly, Blueberry moved to set her on her feet and she wobbled after such intense feelings, even allowing herself to use the shoulder pad next to her to steady herself.

"I am  **not** working here and even more so, what the fudge was that?!"

Her hand directed to where the massive skull had been moments ago and her words earned her a sad look from Blueberry, at least she had censored herself. He seemed as though he wanted to say something but only pulled away nervously, letting her hand drop from him, the way he looked made her think of a puppy being kicked; it hurt to even watch as she clenched her jaw with guilt. This was serious though, and she turned to Sans for answers.

"look, lady, let's talk," Sans belatedly offered and motioned for her to walk with him. Blueberry bounced towards them, intending to follow, but Sans held a hand up to say, "just me and her, we'll head up later."

This earned a pouty look of defiance from him and he even looked over at her instead, expectantly... protectively. She nodded to him to silently say it was fine, although why was she giving him permission?  _ He is a stranger to her... _

"IF THAT IS HOW IT MUST BE, I WILL BE UPSTAIRS THEN IF YOU NEED ME, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS!! MWEH HEH," he boastfully affirmed while turning to exit through the broken doors, he was already gone before she could say more. - Damn her sensitivity to feeling guilt tripped even by monsters she did not know. - Now was no point in feeling remorseful, her attention went towards Sans, instead, it was time for getting down to what was going on here.

"c'mere," he said intently while walking to the other side of the Lab where there was more of a lounge spot, a comfortable-looking white couch settled next to a vending machine. - Was all their furniture so enticingly soft? Why would there be a snack machine in a lab? She did not want to question it out loud despite the temptation of the options in the snack foods. - Shaking her thoughts she sat down on the couch after being motioned towards it, Sans taking a spot on the other side to give her more than enough personal space.

"You better have a really good reason for me not to be walking out right now or even calling the cops on this place for that criminal you have," she began, venting the build-up of tension, "Also, what's this about other  _ yous _ and do I even want to know what that  **_thing_ ** was when we came in here," she said stiffly, her anxiety was easing away with all the rush this visit has been, if she looked at this hard enough, this situation appeared somewhat immoral for the monsters. When she stared over at Sans though, the lights in his sockets were gone, his expression unsettling before they came back to look over at her as he sighed.

"i'm aware red made the news yesterday when he _ went out _ ," he shifted at the observation, "i didn't wantcha to come over in the mornin' cause he would be awake and probably scare ya off," he admitted honestly, and well, that felt like the most straightforward answer she has gotten all morning... it was still morning, right? On wondering that, she realized her purse was not on her. - Where was her purse and where was her phone?! - On seeing her growing panic and patting around on her waist, he waved a hand to get her attention, "your stuff's upstairs by the door, but dontcha worry 'bout that."

"So you were just going to hope I didn't run into him and recognize him from the obvious news reports to stay away from such a monster," she began to ramble through her thoughts before she could really stop herself, "You also didn't answer anything else," clearing her throat she felt like an idiot for this next question, "Are you, like, cloning monsters in here illegally or something?"

"sorta, yeah, on the first part, not the clones. you don't need to know 'bout the other part," he was intentionally being vague, "just, lady, we need help 'round here," his voice broke when explaining, he was nervous or desperate; she could not tell from watching his expressions, it was hard to read a skeleton even if they could move their facial bones. - Why would they need a maid so badly, that was what made her nervous.

"Why do you need a maid so badly and why human? Even more so, why did you just accept me right away?"

Her questions caused Sans to groan, he did not seem to enjoy answering so much, silence forming between the two. He stirred every so often, glancing towards machines in the Lab making her curious if he was busy working. She really wanted to just get up and leave at this point if he was going to be so cryptic.

"humans are strong, this place is a mess, and prolly the only reason you're still here is i saw ya had a patient soul," he pointed towards her as he explained, his finger directed right between her cleavage. She gasped at that, covering her chest which made him chuckle at her miscommunication, "nah, lady, your soul, not your breasts. i can see souls better than the average monster and it's rare to see one so pure in a single trait, with patience no less," he shrugged with his further clarification before slipping his hands into his lab coat pockets.

After his words she found herself crossing her arms tighter in a bashful manner and only noticed she was blushing when the heat was more apparent, wondering to herself why she was flustered by a skeleton. All he had done was compliment her soul, or least that was how it felt, the warmth in her chest from being considered rare was enough to have her unable to look at him directly. That begged the question of how exactly monsters saw souls, yet he said he could see them better than average. Regardless of that, it was revolutionary to learn that souls even existed, especially in her line of study since opening up a human did not really produce such knowledge and thinking on that she was only left with remembering they could only fully see it themselves through battle or... more intimate manners. The silence between them was growing thicker by the moment as she let out a cough to where her mind had wandered.

"You sure being around that Red guy is safe? You also sure this isn't some sick joke, cause I really can't affor--," she paused, taking a breath, "... Just answer that," she finished, avoiding saying too much, she was not going to get cozy with these monsters and spill that much; she did not want their pity about her financial situation. His sockets raised up at her issue and chuckled which immediately upset her at how he was treating her concerns, she just said this better not be a joke! Before she opened her mouth to retort at him he stood up slowly.

"yeah if you're  **patient** with him," he winked with his advice, the pun nearly going over her head as she huffed at him at realizing it. He tugged at the turtleneck of his outfit and cleared his non-existent throat again; he sure did that a lot, she wondered if it was a nervous habit while he diverted gaze from her and continued, "no jokes here cept puns and knock-knock ones, maybe the occasional prank--  _ just... _ nobody seemed to be taking the job is all."

"Probably cause you put your ad in the newspaper, nobody reads those anymore and you also don't even ask your potential employees their name," she muttered bluntly, boldness leaking through the more she was around these guys. Sudden embarrassment heated her face regardless of saying something from her mind as she went silent, yet his reaction was new, he looked surprised and turned to grumble to himself. She worried for a moment she had upset him, anxiety crawling back to tighten her chest.

"guess i should have worked that out better, catching up on human history hasn't been easy. even with our tech helping you advance, us monsters still lots of cultural mumbo-jumbo to learn and vice versa."

A thoughtful expression formed on his face from his ramble, the lights in his sockets dimming briefly. He shook his head and they returned in time to catch her staring at him like she was trying to get a read on what he was thinking now.

"what should i call ya?"

Directing his attention back down to her he held a bony hand out, causing her to wonder if he was offering a handshake or helping her from her seat, but she could not tell until he curled his fingers and extended them; a clear indication of the former.

"Patricia, and yeah I suppose humans can be odd about culture, I don't even understand some of it, but... how much do you pay though? Furthermore, how does the free room thing work?"

She got straight to the point while taking his hand, the first time she had really got to feel the bones beside that awkward head patting she received earlier from Stretch and Red's grip. Much to her surprise, they were cool, room temperature which when she really concentrated on it, that Lab was chilly, probably for the sake of all the equipment. He certainly felt like a real skeleton, not forgetting that coarse texture from her Anatomy courses which made her pull back sooner than she normally would, even staring at her hand as if there would be some sort of residue left behind. He was not a real skeleton, after all, just imitating one through magic she let herself think to soften the sensation. Despite his brightened look, there was a glimmer of noticing her reluctance of physical contact.

"how much ya want, and on the room, you can use it how ya want. live in it or temporarily stay,  **no skin off my bones** ."

He shrugged with pulling his hand back to stuff into his pocket, although she paled at his first question. He was asking her how much she wanted to make; that was just silly, jobs do not work like that. Stunned for the moment she tried to collect herself, not even sure what to suggest or if she was legally allowed to.

"That's not... I don't k-know how much? Just,  _ uh... _ is it even safe if I do live here cause, well, not going to lie, living in a mansion sounds cool, but being murdered in the middle of the night doesn't," she truthfully blurted out with even a smile to how strange she must have sounded accompanying her face reddening deeper. She needed to learn to word things better because he was reading her like an open book with the way he smirked teasingly her direction. Perhaps a class in Psychology would have suited her better than her degree in Anatomy, groaning to herself in her mental defeat.

" _ oh no _ , totally not safe, monsters gonna  **get ya** ," he snickered which only increased her humiliation, "nah, it's safe here, but howsbout i just get with someone that knows a bit better to bring up some paperwork? in the meantime, make yourself at home, literally."

Extending a hand towards her once again he was holding his palm up indicating this time he was offering her a help up. Without her realizing it he was observing her reactions to the smallest actions she did, beginning with her hesitation to take his hand again. It made him curious.

"I suppose so... What about moving costs? I, uh, don't really have the funds to do a move, but I don't have a lot of stuff... on the other hand, I also don't have a car to carry it in," she only dug her shame moreover, she barely felt like an adult at this point. It reminded her needing her parents for every little thing when she had gone to college, but shaking that she peered up at just noticing his offered hand, she hesitated to take it with hers only inches from his indicating a possible aversion to touch, his eyes flickered in response. So instead of waiting for her to move, he reached down to grip at her wrist gently, the bold action startling her and her first reaction to yank away at the hard bones. Cursing at herself to stop being so jumpy, she managed to not fully pull away and allowed her wrist to remain in his hand, telling herself to not fuss any further. He took the reactions in and pulled her up with little effort, even as she hopped away from him the second she was on her feet. It was utterly adorable to him, wanting to toy more in the manner, but he had a job to do. He did have something on the tip of his tongue to ask, yet he would hold off for now while stuffing his hands into his pockets once more.

"i'll have that handled, dontcha worry 'bout it, just pass your address to the others that'll be helping ya and it'll be done by tonight."

He yawned after his mention as if all this talking was tiring him out and in a way, it really was with him slumped more than usual, or it may have just been weariness in general. An internal scoff had her rolling her eyes to the fact she knew no moving services moved that fast unless he had some sort of powerful connections, which he actually may have for all she knew. That was the least of her concerns as she stiffened at the fact he was offering to have her moved right now. The further she got into this job the more unbelievable it became.

"Don't I need to go, uh, I don't know... pack, even end my previous lease, do the paperwork? This is a bit rushed isn't it?"

She was growing nervous again with this all seeming rather strange. - Was she really about to live in a mansion with a bunch of skeletons? It was like something out of a television show ending in a bloody murder, were there even any other humans or types of monsters here? - There were so many questions she could already feel herself beginning to panic again so she took deep breaths and closed her eyes to calm down mentally as fast as she could. She would be lying if she said she liked change and rush, always being the more settle down and wait type, but this could be a good chance to make money while figuring out a better alternative.

There was hope in her expression that did not pass his observations, even a weak smile on her lips.

"atta girl, cheer up. i'll have it handled, the packing and all, just call your landlord after you're settled in," he waved off her questions with a quicker tone, figuring he would wrap this up. He raised an eyebrow to her freezing at the thoughts of strangers packing her stuff for her, granted, that would be such a load off her. She wanted to protest for the simple fact that having others touching her possessions made her tense to the point of biting her lower lip, perhaps she should meet him halfway instead?

"I... s-suppose, just tell them to be gentle with the items and not lose anything, please? I feel like I should at least watch over or pack more important things myself."

She could not help but break some at the thought of strangers handling her private possessions, professional or not, so Sans gave in a little himself and began to walk out of the lab casually. She blinked in confusion, promptly going to his side to walk along as they headed for the exit of the Lab together having to step around the pieces of wood still on the floor.

"yeah, we'll take care of that first then. you guys can handle moving and i'll get the paperwork," he spoke slower, yawning again while they headed up the stairs with her going upstairs easier in her heels than going down, even far ahead of Sans; finding herself waiting at the top while he ascended at his own snail pace. Soon they arrived in the living room area near the entrance, spotting Stretch still there in the exact same spot, fast asleep in a nap and that tray of tacos laying on him undisturbed. He must not have moved an inch that whole time and here she thought she was lazy, a curious glance wondering where Blueberry had gone.

"heya, pa-- stretch, get your bro and take the lady to her place to get her stuff," Sans simply ordered and turned to walk off as if his job was done. There was no way that was the end of it, she panicked as he was leaving her now with someone she knew even less beyond that he was half asleep the whole time of interacting with him. There was no way they would get done by tonight. Sans was already wandered upstairs with a wave of his hand when she gave another glance towards the sleeping skeleton to suddenly having to crane her neck up at there being a collarbone in her face. A silent scream squeaked from her while she posed in a startle almost dramatically, taking a few steps back. She swore this guy was worse than any horror game she knew of, her poor heart racing in her ears. He was completely unphased by her reaction, even slumped while she looked around being unsure how he moved so fast and discarded of that tray too, not seeing it anywhere, but he shrugged innocently at her to try to ease her suspicion.

"ya look like you witnessed a tray-vesty,  _ nyeheh _ ."

He huffed out with a trail of smoke, that cigarette somehow still dangling from his jaw causing her to narrow her eyes at him and that pun he just made. A slow laugh escaped him before a long inhale of whatever he was smoking, it made her blow a breath out to avoid coughing, but that was the least of her worries as he remained silent and so did she. The awkward silence was thicker than that smoke trailing from him while he slumped in the spot he stood, his hands burying far into his hoodie pockets.

"Uhm, are we going to... go," she asked meekly before he jolted at the sound, did he seriously almost fall asleep while standing, or was he spacing out, she really could not tell. He finally moved, swinging an arm around her to pat her upper back to direct her towards the swinging doors across from the living room, such a personal space breaking motion making her flinch. Fighting her sensitivity with being touched by these monsters, she took note that they were heading into a kitchen, the smell of burnt plastic hitting her like a slap to the face before her attention landed on Blueberry. He stood on a step stool to be able to look over a tall pot set on the stove bubbling with what she hoped was not food with how it smelt in there.

"bro, we gotta help the gal with movin'," he said nonchalantly along with a cough which alerted the smaller skeleton instantly, nearly causing him to fall off that stool he was on. He did knock it over when he jumped off though, bounding his way over to them with eager anticipation.

"HUMAN HUMAN  **HUMAN!!!** DOES THAT MEAN YOU DECIDED TO WORK HERE AND YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE HERE TOO? THIS IS FANTASTIC! I, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS, WILL AID YOU IN THIS CONQUEST OF MOVING!"

He struck another valiant pose that she could not hold the snort back in response to, a glimpse around him curious if anyone was going to turn that boiling pot off though, but a sudden breath hitting her ear distracted her away with a shudder; the smell of smoke stinging her nose.

"ain't my bro the  _ coolest _ ," Stretch whispered to her far too close for comfort and she jolted in reply, rubbing her ear as if he had done something to it beyond causing a burning blush at the tips. He only lazily shrugged once at her reaction, the interaction completely missed by Blueberry almost vibrating in place with his excitement.

"I... uh, yeah, he is... L-let me just get my purse and I can tell you where to go in-- well I assume you two have a car?"

Really trying to brush off the odd whispering at her, she focused on figuring out where her purse was. Maybe in the living room, Sans said it was by the entrance so she should check there first. She was stopped from turning to exit the kitchen by an outstretched arm draped across her shoulders only furthering that discomfort she was beginning to get. It was Stretch's doing once more and she was intent on removing his limb from her, but he nodded his head towards Blueberry as if trying to tell her they were not done with the conversation.

"A CAR? AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO DEBATE A STYLISH SPORTY MOTORCYCLE BEING FAR SUPERIOR, THERE IS NO NEED, HUMAN," he puffed his chest as if getting ready to give a speech, "I KNOW A SHORTCUT SINCE WE HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO PURCHASE PROPER TRANSPORTATION, FOR I AM THE MAGNIFICANT SANS," a flick of his fingers just to further that egotistical boast, "JUST TELL ME YOUR ADDRESS FOR I HAVE STUDIED THE MAPS OF THIS CITY EXPERTLY TO BE WELL PREPARED FOR ANYTHING."

That long-winded explanation left her dizzy just trying to take it all in, but watching Blueberry bounce on the balls of his feet after stepping closer to them made her curious what he was talking about. Not only that, a side thought distracting her that she had not even given these two her name, no wonder they kept calling her human or  _ gal _ , yet in her defense, they did not even ask it of her yet.

Okay, these two brothers were way too much in her personal space, Blueberry now standing only a foot in front of her and the hard bone behind her making her feel almost caged in with no escape, but it was not entirely too unpleasant with a scent of honey hitting her senses. Snapping out of her observations, she assumed it could not hurt to tell the address, ignoring her less logical thoughts of them suddenly taking her to a helicopter pad or something silly like that.

"I guess, it's, uh, 59 Cherry Ave just over past, uhm, the start of the monster area. It's only the second floor, apartment 5B," she said quietly, feeling odd giving out her address, but then again she was going to be moving, so she guessed it was not too personal. Everything was catching up to her now while she realized she was really doing this, she was about to live with a bunch of monsters as their maid, the sensation almost feeling comical at how society felt towards these species only years back. Getting back to reality, now she was sure they would ease on being so close to her as she turned to start to remove Stretch's arm, finding him unbudging.

"Y-you can ease up n **OOF--** "

Split seconds into her speech she had the air knocked out of her by a sudden strong hug from Blueberry, his arms wrapping around her waist tight. This was not really the time for hugs, but she guessed he was happy that she was going to be staying, part of her relieved while she stirred to return the gesture. Before she had the chance, the arm across her shoulders tightened more and Blueberry looked up at her while she tried to ignore the fact his chin rested on her cleavage.

"MWEH HEH HEH!! HOLD ON, HUMAN!"

Blueberry's only other indication was those stars forming in his eyes once more to give an excited pulse at her. - What was he doing and what was she supposed to hold on to?

Darkness overcame her vision after an abrupt shutter sound. . .

All the sound and air felt like it was suddenly sucked out of the room when it all went black. Her eyes went wide at the sudden shift of scenery, her head throbbing immediately by her lungs forgetting how to breathe, the silence deafening. What she could feel was unmoving cold air as if it was so thick she would suffocate under it. - Was she even still alive, what was happening; all that she felt was as if she had lost all sense of being. - Then the sensation of plunging into the water and being thrown hit her all at once. She clung harder to Blueberry still in front of her, not even remembering when she put her arms around him, holding him as if he was the only thing keeping her grounded and only a choked noise left her throat, tears forming immediately in her eyes. Everything came back with a rushing loop and then she saw a door-- her apartment's front door.

"maybe shoulda warned her or somethin', bro," the one beside her broke the weird numbing silence like she had water in her ears beforehand, finding herself rotating her jaw to pop them. Now the dizziness hit her while she wobbled, only still standing due to the firm arms still around her waist and her whitened knuckles releasing the soft armor. Right now all she wanted to do was lay down on the ground as her knees buckled and a whine escaped her as if trying to tell them to let her go so she could.

"OH, HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? I DID NOT MEAN TO STARTLE YOU. I have never done that with a human, so I hope you are alright," Blueberry's voice lowered with concern as he clung to her tighter, sure to bruise lightly by this point as it became painful. She had to do something before he ended up breaking her with her hands raising up to his exposed arms, delicately touching them with her prickle feeling fingertips, the touch actually easing it away from her numbed digits.

"W-what.. w-what happened?"

How long as she been standing there because her feet ached more like after hours of walking, muscles burning and her head still throbbing in a dull ache; there were tears in her eyes as her throat was dry, licking her lips while she regained herself. Peering up at what she could have sworn was a door just confirmed that she really was looking at one, her apartment door no less. This was impossible in her mind as she wanted to panic again, there is no way that teleportation was real, but then again magic had been proven over the past few years. A shake at her shoulders broke her from the internal debate, now two bone hands on them as she could see a light glow of orange escaping them. She wanted to pull away from it in fear, but the small skeleton clinging to her kept her firmly in place, worry plastered on his face as if he had broken the human with the shortcut they took.

" _ relaaaax _ , i gotcha. humans ain't too good at travel like that with all your fleshy bits," Stretch spoke so smooth and calmly she felt as though she was being healed by it. - Wait, she was being healed! - This magic she did know about as it was one of the most talked about advances that monsters could do, a hint of green light flowing up her neck causing her to want to protest, yet it was so incredibly relaxing. She found herself sinking back into him.

"PAPS!! DO NOT USE TOO MUCH MAGIC ON THE HUMAN, IT CAN HARM HER!"

Blueberry scolded with one of his hands releasing from her to shake a finger at his brother. During their sibling disagreement, she felt everything come back, the dizziness and sore feeling were gone now leaving her just uneasy with the situation entirely. The hands from both monsters completely removing from her as she stood there in shock. - This had to be the coolest and most terrifying thing to happen in her life.

"W.. w-we... How? Wha--"

She could not even give a proper response, her hands motioning comically before finally settling on her face to let out a long strained breath. Stretch wandered around her and began to fiddle with something hidden behind his lanky form, barely catching glimpse of it. It was her purse, she gave confused shifts of her eyes from it and then up to the lazy expression he held. The door already being pushed open as he gave her a brief moment of attention.

" _ magic _ ," Stretch said as he wiggled his fingers, holding her keys after making his way inside without regard that he was a stranger in  **her** home-- former home, but that was beside the point.

"MWEH HEH HEH HEH! I WILL BEGIN IN THE KITCHEN! I MUST SEE WHAT SORT OF COOKING EQUIPMENT WE CAN TAKE BACK WITH US TO USE!"

Blueberry rushed by her excitedly and into the kitchen, already opening drawers and cabinets to look around. There was no time to even gather what all happened before she had to hurry in after them and shut her door to avoid her neighbors peeking in then freaking out; she was surely trying not to.

"Wait wait, slow down," she stiffened with the dozens of questions invading her mind, "Are neither of you going to explain what just happened," was her first snapped question causing both monsters to turn to her briefly.

"just a shortcut," Stretch stated as if it were not a big deal what so ever.

"WORRY NOT, HUMAN! OUR SHORTCUTS OFTEN CONFUSE OTHERS, EVEN MONSTERS, BUT NOW WE MUST GET TO WORK ON PACKING! MWEH!"

Now she was being ignored on the subject while Blueberry promptly dragged all her stacked pots and pans from a lower shelf making quite a loud noise. Her neighbors were not going to like this one bit, not that she had to worry about that anymore.

"Fine, okay, let's just accept the teleportation powers," she threw her hands up to admit her defeat in this before stating an observation, "...I don't even have boxes. How are we going to pack everythin--"

The sounds of shuffling carboard alerted her, seeing Stretch just shrugging innocently after kicking at a pile of folded up boxes laying there. There was a look of confusion and concern crossing her face that she shook off to just feel frustrated with how they always seemed to be a step ahead of her thought process. This entire situation made absolutely no sense to her and at this point, she was done trying to work it out to the point of groaning into her hands as she placed them on her face.

"I mean if you're going to already have everything, you could have put together the bo--"

Her hand that was outstretched in her emotive response suddenly had a roll of duct tape hung from it. It took everything she had not to chuck the thing at the one handing it to her, instead glaring up at a completely indifferent expression Stretch gave while he slumped back into his hoodie with half-closed sockets. Taking her aggression out instead at one of the boxes she snatched it up from the ground and proceeded to head over to her couch. She retrieved her laptop, yanking the charging cord from the wall as she most certainly did not want them going through this thing. Without another word to the skeletons in her kitchen, she made her way into her room where she shut the door promptly after which left her alone for the first time she had been since this morning. The sound of the cardboard box and tape dropping heard while she slipped her way down to sit there against the door, all of this being more of a drain than she anticipated. There was no way she could back down now with the clamoring of kitchenware in the other room making her all too aware she was really packing up to go live in a mansion with monsters. Just as a precaution, her eyes darted around as if expecting there to be cameras and this all to be one big prank series by that Mettaton guy she often saw on television.

Minutes passed in her alone time before she finally gained the courage to attempt to gather up items to pack away in the box she brought after putting it together. It was a bit soothing to organize and gather possessions much like the feeling she got when she did a good spring cleaning, but now it would be the last time she spent in that room. Good riddance, she thought, the memories of this place gave her a bad taste in her mouth since it was her first real apartment on her own since college. Honestly, if it had gone as smoothly as this new job then she would not have had to spend weeks living in her car after assuming she could leave her college dorm immediately after leasing. These memories were not making what was going on any less weird, if anything, it made it more suspicious. Perhaps, she should be happy being able to live in a sizeable mansion for free, she assumed, just having to clean the place for some monsters. It was like the lottery win of roommate searches unless you did not like monsters, which at this rate she could see some people's reluctance.

Pausing in her packing, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and felt the ache of her heels, forgetting completely to take the painful shoes off. After a thought, she kicked them off and headed out of the bedroom in a quick dash to avoid interacting with the monsters so she could clean her face off, her makeup completely ruined by this point. Upon returning to her bedroom without distracting the brothers from their work she shut the door once again so she could get dressed in something better fit for packing than her near-business outfit. It was not until then that she noticed the tears up the back of her pantyhose, cursing to herself as she had no idea when that happened or even feeling the air on her bare calves, but no matter; she threw the ruined material in a nearby bin. On her agenda now was finding a nice tank top and comfy yoga pants, stripping down to do just that.

After slipping up her favorite lounging exercise pants she felt a light gust of air which had her peering over her shoulder towards the bedroom door still closed. She shrugged as she could have sworn she heard it click, but there was a lot of noise happening on and off in the other room, putting a lot of trust in the brothers in not destroying her stuff. Right now she was just so happy she cleaned the apartment last night in some sort of coincident fate of events. Settling her laptop in her most personal items box she wondered if it would survive being teleported, never being one for understanding magic interacting with technology. Too much overthinking is what she told herself, moving to put her box of more indecent  _ toys _ in as much of cover as she could. It did leave her with the lingering thought of if skeleton monsters even had that sort of anatomy to which her face heated immediately at. - Why was she thinking of that?! - They were skeletons, granted and she always had a thing for monster men, but it was different for these types of monsters! Mentally slapping herself from that sort of mindset, she went back to finishing up her personal packing.

Her clothes were the easiest to get through, not owning more than perhaps two weeks worth as she actually managed to fit them all in one box that she felt quite proud of. Finally sealing that last box of items she did not want them touching, she figured she would see the progress going on in the kitchen.

"MWEH HEH HEH HEH! HUMAN, THE KITCHEN HAS BEEN COMPLETED, BY YOURS TRULY!"

A pridefully posing Blueberry motioned towards the emptied out kitchen with several boxes standing perfectly stacked. It amazed her at how fast he had done that considering she barely got through two boxes herself where he had completely finished. This was all so much to take in, thoughts from earlier really piling up on her still as she rubbed her face to try to relieve the stress of it, but unfortunately for her, it did not go unnoticed by the observant monster.

"YOU DO NOT APPEAR PLEASED BY MY PERFORMANCE, DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?"

"Oh no no, this is actually amazing work," she said quickly with a wave of her hands, "I'm just a little overwhelmed is all, things don't normally move this fast or, well, you know."

All she got to her words was a confused expression, he apparently did not know what she was talking about, yet brightened up immediately after regardless. A conclusion came to his mind, walking past her with purpose and right into her bedroom left open now which had her jump at his bold actions; her bedroom was still pretty private to her still.

"W-wait, I can handle that room!"

"DO NOT FRET, FOR I, THE MAGNIFICANT SANS, WILL HANDLE THE REST. IF YOU ARE OVERWHELMED YOU CAN JOIN MY LAZY BROTHER ON THE COUCH UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED," he proclaimed without hearing anymore protest from her causing her to follow behind, but she did pause to glimpse at said _ lazy brother _ in the form of Stretch sunk so low in her couch she nearly did not see him. He most certainly was asleep, her attention torn away while she heard noises already escaping from her bedroom, rushing in there with a fear he had already got started.

"Here," she said quietly in defeat, "I'll help since it's my bedroom and I could use the distraction."

Blueberry lit up and posed dramatically for her as if he had just won a victory in getting her to do some of the work too. This skeleton was so adorably arrogant, she oddly found it nice to be around with a burst of energy from just watching him work. It was not until she saw him pause at some photos she neglected to put away yet did she finally see a drop in his motions. She was nervous at how intently he was looking at the picture, heading over towards him to see which he had picked up. The one from one of her school field trips where she was standing beside her entire class for a group picture, quite a nice memory that one was as she did have good times from that job here and there.

"WOWSIES, YOU HAVE SO MANY CHILDREN! ARE THEY GOING TO BE MOVING IN WITH US AS WELL AND WHERE ARE THEY NOW? YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD US!"

Stars formed in his sockets once more, gazing at her with a whole new type of excitement, it made her wonder if he liked children. Even more so, was this monster one cause she could not tell with his demeanor, but she was willing to bet he was an adult by some of his vocabularies. She shook her head, not feeling brave enough to ask for sure and instead she needed to correct him.

"Ah no, most certainly not," she laughed softly to the thought of having to birth that many kids, "I was a teacher and that was the class I used to teach is all."

"A TEACHER? NO WONDER YOU ARE SO OVERWHELMED AS THAT IS SURELY TOO MANY PUPILS FOR ONE TO TEACH. ALPHYS IS MY MENTOR AND SHE OFTEN SAYS JUST HAVING TO TRAIN ME WOULD BE THE DEATH OF HER ONE DAY, MWEH HEH!"

His confidence was radiating so much she could feel herself standing straighter just to compensate, a soft smile spreading across her lips. It did strike her as strange he knew so little about a school environment when she heard the monsters to be quite eager at setting up teaching systems, but she chalked it up to him being from a different part of Mt. Ebott.

"I would have my hands full too with just one great student like you," she said without thinking too much in her words, the compliment feeling fitting since he was basically doing most of the moving work himself. All she had time for next was to see the small skeleton vibrating with a sudden happiness before he bound over towards her in a snap after tossing the picture to land safely in a box of bedsheets.

"YOU ARE TOO AMAZINGLY KIND, HUMAN," he near purred the words while his arms wrapped around her in a crushing hug, "NOT QUITE AS AMAZING AS ME, BUT I AM SURE YOU ARE THE BEST TEACHER OF THE SURFACE AND WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR PUPIL AS WELL IF IT WOULD NOT MAKE ALPHYS SAD," his face full of confliction before he shook it against her chest, his nasal bone scraping against her being mildly discomforting, "I MUST NOT MAKE HER SAD THOUGH, BESIDES WE TRAIN TO CAPTURE HUMANS WHICH MAY NOT BE TOO FITTING TO YOU BEING A HUMAN, SO INSTEAD, WE CAN BE BEST FRIENDS! I DO WARN YOU THAT MY STANDARDS ARE QUITE HIGH."

He continued nuzzling his skull into her, far too happy about the jump in their friendship level. - Had she not just met this monster? - There was no way she could try to correct him while she raised her hands nervously, hesitant at returning the hug as just having him squeezing her again sent a red tint to her cheeks. It did not help that he had his face right so close to her neck and breasts with his height, really hoping he was not doing that intentionally, but he glanced up at her face with the blue circles returning from stars in his sockets. He noticed she was not hugging back and the heat on her face, a curiosity pooling in his head.

"S-sure, we can be best friends if you would like that," she nervously spoke, unsure how else to respond to that and really depended on the habits she picked up from being a teacher instead, but that was not what she wondered about the most while asking, "... you train to capture humans?"

"OF COURSE, HOW ELSE AM I TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARD? I WILL BE THE BEST AND ONCE THAT HAPPENS THEN I WILL FINALLY BECOME... POPULAR!"

This admission from him in combination with his crushing hug was giving her a light unsettling feeling, but she tried to shake it off with how harmless he was. If he was really going to be doing something sinister she was sure that he would not be helping her move while he pulled away from her that gave her space to breath. A soft smile on her lips while she felt herself on autopilot with her hand coming up to pat him on the head, but she stopped with a snap of her hand behind her back. She could not believe she was about to pat him on the head like she would a student, clenching her jaw as she instead looked away from him to try to distract herself. Unfortunately for her, he noticed this, blinking at her and then simply turning away to continue the box he was working on with a soft  _ mweh heh _ now and then. He was not questioning her while they continued their packing in moderate silence.

Several hours later, the packing was done! She was starting to regret her choice of thinking Blueberry was this innocent monster simply wanting to help her out with packing. No, he was a brutal instructor when it came to actually getting into the work of it that had her body hurting, covered in sweat, and laying on the floor in front of the stacks of boxes. The thought of even getting all of the possessions to the new location was not in her train of thought while she overheard the brothers conversing nearby.

"PAPS!! WAKE UP, WE'RE DONE, YOU LAZYBONES, NO THANKS TO YOU! JUST FOR THAT, THERE WILL BE NO TACOS FOR YOU TONIGHT FOR NOT HELPING AT ALL!!"

Blueberry scolded at Stretch with a wiggle of his finger, the lankier skeleton rousing awake from the indent he made on the couch. He peered over towards the half-dead human on the floor, blinking to wondering what happened during his nap and then towards the boxes that answered his question. While she subtly listened to their conversation she could not help but notice they avoided using the nicknames she was told to use, something she may have to ask later.

"how 'bout i take the human and you take the boxes, so that'll make up for it, yeah," Stretch drawled out in a yawn and stood up at a snail's pace causing a look of consideration across Blueberry's face. The shorter brother let out a huff, not entirely liking the plan, yet finding it the most efficient way.

"FINE, BUT YOU ARE UNPACKING ALL OF THIS AS PUNISHMENT FOR BEING SO LAZY!! I'LL TAKE ALL HER ITEMS TO HER ROOM AND YOU JUST MAKE SURE SHE GETS BACK IN ONE PIECE," Blueberry ordered sternly that still surprised her how demanding he could get for being so cute, but at least it was not directed her at this moment while she panted in exhaustion after that laboring work. She just wanted to sleep forever. Apparently, that was not happening, a pair of hands gripped her by her waist that caused a surprised gasp to escape her along with a squirm to the suppressed tickle sensation. Before she could scold the offending skeleton at how handsy he seemed to be she was lifted to her feet in one effortless swoop by Stretch, for being so lazy he sure was strong as he released her long before she could swat his hands away. Thankfully, her red cheeks were hidden behind her exhaustion after all of that packing, yet it still was noticed by Blueberry as he looked between the two of them before making a coughing noise to gain their attention.

"PAPS, I GOT A SUPER SECRET Uh favor," he said quickly before eyeing her to signal they needed to speak alone which she understood, but it did not ease the awkwardness one bit. It was not like she could lip read if they did whisper, but she walked some feet away and turned her back regardless, not watching as they conversed in secret. Stretch leaned down to Blueberry whispering at him with a stern stare, not too surprised by this, or really he just was not reactive at all to much of anything.

Unable to hear anything said or even happening behind her made her startle when she noticed someone standing behind her by a shadow overcasting her. Turning around to eyeing Stretch standing there she cocked an eyebrow at him as if expecting something to come out of what happened and what she got was him extending a hand out to her slowly. It was fairly confusing that had her looking around him to Blueberry, who was already staring over the boxes in contemplation and picking up a stack easily taller than him. Such a display distracted her from what Stretch was doing, yet the smaller skeleton vanished from sight seconds which left her having to remember that they teleported there. - Did that mean she was about to do the same with Stretch? - It made her far more uneasy now that she knew what was going to happen, eyes darting back down to his extended hand palm up and twitching at her to take it.

"i gotta take ya home, so asking you to take my hand," he explained in a flat tone, a shift of discomfort as if he was doing something he did not want to. Being somewhat put off by this, she stared up at him wanting a better answer than that. - What did they discuss that caused him to be acting this way all of the sudden? From how he had acted since they met he never asked before doing something, but did she really know these monsters well enough to be making that kind of assumption? - All of this just made her far more nervous than she needed to be, narrowing her eyes at his hand as if he was going to bite her or something.

"Okay, I guess, but why are you acting differently?"

Her resolution to the situation felt just, yet the moment it left her lips she regretted it. There was a low guttural sound from the skeleton almost like an annoyance that sent a pang of guilt through her enough to reach her hand out to try to fix it. The damage was done though as he reached to grab her hand far too harsh than she would have liked, wincing at the rough bone squeezing her fingers.

"i'm actin'  _ different _ ? you don't know us, human."

There was nothing she could think to say to that, guilt wrecking her thoughts while her heart thudded in her ears, only a sputtered breath escaping her. Darkness hit her like a brick wall that was terrifying while still experiencing the tightness of anxiety, instincts kicking in while she shut her eyes tightly and she attempted to yank her hand away from his while the void was around them. That look of mild annoyance on his face morphed into utter terror at her actions just as a suffocating pressure began to crush at her entire form, the last thing she was able to feel was the tips of his fingers slipping away from hers.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Credits:**  
>  Underswap © AU Community


	3. Suffocating Orange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:**  
>  Suffocation, Light Gore, Blood

She wanted to scream, but there was no sound, not even air escaping her open mouth that felt like the hard pressure was rushing into, pressing her tongue and squeezing her teeth. The sensation caused tears to painfully roll down her cheeks. - She was suffocating. - Even her vision of Stretch locked in a terrified expression dimmed away, darkness creeping on the only image she had in this vast darkness, her whole body being crushed as there were even the tight sounds of her form at its limit. - She was dying.

Suddenly, a desperate tug at her hand pulled her back into feeling and her vision blurring into orange. Stretch's other hand reached for her as the one still faintly grasping her tightened painfully, his fingers digging hard into her palm as he yanked her towards him with such force she could feel her joints pop as if she was being ripped from invisible tar. A sickening crack echoed in her ears through the deafening silence of where ever they were. A reeling gasp came from her as she could finally breathe again just before the rush of being dunked underwater hit her at full force and the world came back, bleeding away the darkness. All she felt now was being held shakily against that hoodie that slowly came into focus.

"shit, shit, shit," Stretch muttered above her while feeling regained in her limbs along with a burning pain running up her arm accompanied by a sticky wetness slipping down to her elbow to the concrete their feet now stood upon. Vertigo was unkind to her, the sensation of wanting to vomit doubling her over from the sheer shock of what just transpired, yet only a dry gag came between her dire breaths. All her instincts tried to push Stretch away from her, but he was not letting go anytime soon. He was repeating very faint words in a garbled language that hurt her ears to even hear as she managed to gaze out at where they were now. It was dark and the breeze of the summer air brushed past them, the lights of street lamps were the only thing to illuminate the area. That was the least of her concerns while she hiccuped at the immeasurable pain pulsing through her hand in waves. From this, she tried to scream, but all that came from her was a gurgled whimper.

Stretch noticed her distress when she tried to pull away from him once more so he steadied her enough away so he could inspect the damage without having her collapse on him. Light from the nearby street lamp faintly revealing splatters of red drizzling from her palm, the sight made her reel, unsure if this was really happening. Her vision shook with the image of his hands caging hers and it broke her daze allowing her tear-clouded eyes to gaze up at him as if wanting an answer in her growing hysteria. His focus was not on answering her while his dark sockets narrowed at the injury instead, a familiar orange glow outlined his fingers and wisps of green to leaked across her blood-drenched hand. It was enough to make her look down again to seeing just why her hand hurt so much. Her palm had indents as if multiple punctures went through to the bone and they were about the size of... the tips of his bloodied fingers.

Too much shock prevented her from reacting properly as instead she let out wet hiccups, tears flowing down her cheeks. The healing magic he was attempting pulled at her skin, coaxing it to mend together, yet she could see her hand clearly broken with the grotesque shape it bent. Blood continued to drip down and onto her shirt while she tried to hold her arm close to her chest, stains seeping into the fabric. Another dry heave escaped her, unable to watch. This left her wondering how it even happened, did he do this to her?

"sans' gonna kill me," he muttered to himself, "i had to pull ya back or you woulda slipped away," he tried to explain, but it did not cover the guilt in his tone, "... can't let him see this."

After hearing that, she felt knots tense in her chest, unsure how to take what he meant. The pain brought her back to the situation, however, no words coming out except for distressed breaths and so she whimpered, trying to suppress some of the discomforts. Her knees threatened to give out from under her when they buckled, the only thing keeping her standing was Stretch supporting her in his effort to heal her hand.

Realization hit that he had harmed her and for a split moment, she heard shutter clicks. A tug pulled at her chest as if trying to coax part of herself out, an intense desire to hurt him back-- to fight back. It was enough to break his concentration on healing her, his magic faltering.

"whoa whoa, i didn't mean to hurtcha, calm down," he tried to ease her from engaging him in a fight, which surprisingly worked and the sensation in her chest dissipated. The more logical side of her mind screamed at her that he was trying to help her and that he was not an enemy.

Just then, CRACK! Shattering pain shot up her arm following a sickening noise of bones snapping together. Her back stiffened harshly and her eyes shot wide open in horror. Screams muffled against his free hand pressing tight against her mouth to contain her wails, her other hand joining in to grasp it while she tried to comprehend what just happened. To her, it felt like he just tried to break her hand again, her legs shaking violently under her and that vice grip on her jaw now the only thing keeping her from entirely falling to her knees.

"don't scream, i'm doin' what i can over here, gal," he attempted to reassure her, "i'm re-alignin' the bone, i ain't exactly a doctor, heh."

There was orange sweat dripping down his skull, his sockets locked in concentration while the energy was draining from his very being at exerting this form of magic. Regardless of how exhausted he was growing, he returned to his healing with the burning pain slowed into a tingling numb. Unfortunately, her limbs continued to feel locked up, but at least the wounds had ceased their bleeding; both of his hands settled on hers.

"I... it hurts," she tried to whisper, not much else she could say at this moment. Tears continued to gush down her cheeks and gross sniffles escaping at every breath while the numbness finally flowed up her arm. Her own blood was left on her face accompanying red marks from how hard he had held her mouth shut to prevent her from screaming out to the whole block. It let her begin to feel what the magic was actually doing, beyond the numbness, her skin hardly felt like it belonged to her. The sensation was unwelcomed like an invasion of her nerves with it forcing a faster mending than what was natural. - Besides earlier's attempt at easing her dizziness, she had never had healing magic done to her and she very much did not like it. - Her reluctance alone affected his ability to properly administer it with emotions rejecting him to the point he was left sighing in frustration. All he could do was pull back from his attempt since forcing healing magic on an unwilling person nearly having a backfire effect on the monster.

Stretch stumbled in front of her, nearly toppling over as her wounds reduced, yet not fully healed though. At least her hand was no longer entirely broken, just a stiffness persisted and when she tried to flex it after just shot pain up her arm, choosing to not move it for a while. He continued to hold his bloodied hands out allowing her a good look at them. - There should be something terrifying about crimson stained skeletal hands. - Not much time to dwell on that when he stumbled again, barely able to catch himself. Completely drained of any magic he could exert that was not keeping his body together.

"y-you alright now," he managed to ask between labored breaths that had her more concerned about him than herself. Biting her lower lip had her considering this whole situation and so she pushed aside her pride to trust him in this. Her patience truly being tested now as she saw him wobble again, her good hand actually twitching in reflex to wanting to help him. He held a hand up to signal he was alright, an awkward silence forming between them after her not answering him, but once she gathered her thoughts and cupped her hand protectively she felt ready to respond.

"I... d-don't know... but you don't look good."

Not being comfortable enough to offer him a hand, she stood there stiffly which gave her time to glance around in wondering how no one had seen them if they were outside. - The urge to find a spot to sit was strong. - She watched him wander over to a nearby wall to lean against, the brick gave light that they were in the city somewhere for sure-- or perhaps just near some buildings in general since she was no expert on architecture.

"surprised ya say that, but i'm fine," he muttered, brushing off the concern with a dig into his hoodie pocket to pull what looked like a small piece of candy. Unwrapping it, he popped it into the darkness of his mouth just as the sound of a car whizzing by startled them both erupting a cough from him and nearly choking on the treat. This gave her some further insight into where they were though, some fairly empty street in one of the monster-run parts of town. The only way she could tell that specifically was because the sidewalk appeared newly paved and lush flowers sat nearby that she promptly sat on the edge of. It was a bigger relief to get off her feet than expected with her weight sinking down and back slumped forward.

"Where are we?"

Being relatively unfamiliar with the monster part of the city, she could not even guess where they were so she stared down at her injured hand held delicately in the palm of her good one; the blood already becoming sticky and uncomfortable. A click of hard candy against Stretch's teeth made her peer back up at him, trying not to pry at how he was even eating it as he hooked a thumb to a nearby building.

"muff-- some joint called grillby's, i was gonna take ya for a drink to ease up. - on my bro's request. - but, guess that didn't go to plan, nyeh heh," he tried to laugh off the incident, but she shook her head to think that a drink certainly was not worth this trouble; even though she really craved one about now. A cold chill went down her back to the open air hitting the sweat on her since she was drenched in the horrible clammy sensation. Attempting to recover in her sitting spot, her eyes trailed down to the splatters of blood left on the sidewalk. - Thankfully, she had not lost too much of it and that magic proved better than high doses of morphine for pain.

"Do you have a phone or anything? Maybe we should, I don't know, be going to the ER or telling someone about this," she grumbled questioningly, far more snappy with her trauma-induced silence wearing off. Stretch finished his candy with a crunch between his teeth, only the sound caught her attention that still left a lot to wonder about how he ate, however, the noise caused her to flinch after having a bone broken. Her attention was brought back up to him on seeing him walk towards her, stiffening and pulling away when he tried to reach for her hand. Surprisingly, he backed off and stuffed his hands into his hoodie with a long sigh. - At least he looked in far better shape now.

"yeah, come on."

He motioned towards the bar once more they had been standing next to that held a sign above it reading  **_Grillby's_ ** . That was not really what she meant, but perhaps he wanted to borrow a phone in there-- although, her frustrated state of mind decided to stare him down from her spot, neglecting rational thought.

"Bad time to be thinking about drinks still isn't it," she spoke her mind in the most bitchy tone she could muster, continuing to glare up at him that he did not appreciate too much. Not in the position to talk back to her, he approached her again to only have fear light up in her expression to which he backed off seeing. An annoyed sigh escaped him to the delicate situation he found himself in.

"i'm aware i messed up," he admitted, more exhausted than apologetic, "just let me fix it, so come on, the owner of this joint is a friend and he'll patch you up better."

Paranoid about their position, she found herself searching around the streets with an inquiry of where everyone even was. She knew that monsters were typically night folk, so seeing their part of town so empty made her uneasy, nevertheless, she had no choice. As she got lost in her thoughts, Stretch shifted around after an observation and pulled his hoodie up and off himself. At the actions, she raised an eyebrow his way then and after noticing what he was doing, absolute confused fluster.

"W-what are you doing?!"

Ignoring her questions, he rolled up the hoodie to slip it over her head just as she was getting an eye full of what he wore under it. That was the most she had seen of any of these skeletons while a loose black tank top was all that covered a very real looking ribcage, the outline of it even visible through the fabric. She could not help but ogle at such a sight since it was not every day someone got to be around an actual living skeleton. It did not help that the others never showed much bone or her, probably unhealthy, fascination with monsters.

"here, wear this," he somewhat demanded while she was forced to put on the oversized thing, her hair being messed up when she left her hurt hand in the chest portion and her good arm pulled through.

"Uh, it's not... cold?"

"to hide that," he pointed out figuratively and literally before burying his hands into his cargo short pockets to effectively hide his own bloody digits, "not sure how good it would look for a monster walking in with a bleeding human."

She wanted to argue with him, call him out on the fact that it was his fault and he should take the blame-- but was it really? A pang of guilt hit her after recalling what lead up to this. She was the one that stupidly pulled away and that suffocating feeling she had when she almost left his grasp in that dark place.

It made her feel... hopeless.

"still with me, gal? gee, i know it smells, but ya don't have to be that stunned."

His voice brought her back to reality from the deep thoughts as she noticed him trying to make light of the situation, but no smile came across her lips, stuck in an uncomfortable frown. She did find herself giving the collar of the fabric around her a subtle sniff, the scent actually not bad at all as it reminded her of honey. With how lanky his body was, his hoodie situated longer than some of the dresses she owned; her good arm through one of the sleeves did not even reach the tip end of it and the excess flopped down that made her feel like a child trying to wear adult clothes. - That may be her inexperience in even wearing men's clothing in general.

"So, why again aren't we just going to the nearest hospital, this is the city isn't it?"

The question left her feeling stupid after it escaped her lips as she most certainly did not want to walk blocks in her current state, but before she could correct herself, he was already replying to her.

"rather not take ya on another trip," he stated agreeably since she would not be joining him on that teleporting trick anytime soon, "'sides, i'm not sure where the nearest one is and the buddy in here can heal, so saves us both the trouble," he shrugged between his explanation and finished after a pause, "i can't heal you too well, or, well, humans are just hard to heal at all."

Her inner Biologist wanted to know more, but she found herself chewing her lower lip to suppress it instead since lessons on monster magic could come later.

"Well, alright, can we go then? I rather not get an infection in my hand..."

"you're the one holding us up, heh."

He regained his lazy stance as well as his apparent humor with a sleepy chuckle preceding his statement, at what she was not sure, perhaps nerves. The way he stood she could still tell he was uneasy, but he motioned her to follow him towards the faintly lit bar door. It appeared darker inside as he reached to push open only to find it not budging, both of them getting a perplexed reaction. There was a note on the door that Stretch leaned down to read to himself in a grumbled whisper that made his shoulders droop more than they already were. She nudged past him to be able to read it herself that froze her in realization.

SORRY, CLOSED FOR CELEBRATIONS!

(Come visit us at the get together located at Ebott School over the weekend!)

Now, she was allowed to be mad at him, this place not even open due to all of the monsters over at Ebott University. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she finally understood why the streets were so empty and now this made this trip even more pointless. Stretch was not as phased by this while he turned sharply to look down at her, one of his sockets closing and hands pressing further into his pockets.

"welp, i'm out of ideas," he said nonchalantly and gave a glance around as if it all made sense to him as well. - What was strange to her though is that he apparently did not know about this, was this not a big event all monsters knew about? There was no use dwelling on that while she used the door frame to rest against.

"Now what?"

She was exhausted, her hand still hurt like a bitch, and this hoodie felt like an oven she could not escape in this warm air. The only reason she was not running for someone else to be helping her is that tear of guilt that she was partial to blame here for her overreaction as they teleported. A silence soon fell between the two of them with Stretch lost in his own thoughts.

"i can't exactly trust you to not go slippin' into the void again, so we're walkin' home, i guess."

He shrugged to this conclusion as if it were no big deal, but how far were they even from the mansion? This dilemma left her staring at her feet, the splatter of blood staining her shoe making her narrow her eyes. Hearing him already walking away, she perked up to follow behind, not wanting to be left alone for sure; so, she guessed they could make progress. At this point, she could suspect he did not have a cellphone, and in that conclusion, she supposed she would get through a question pressing at her.

"What did you mean by  _ slipping into the void _ ? You kept avoiding answering," she asked quietly before her voice grew some snap, "Is it really dangerous enough to have crushed my hand?"

The spite in her throat could not be helped, the throb in her hand already returning at every motion under the hoodie with it pressed against her chest. He did not look back at her as he was fiddling with a lighter and cigarette he pulled from his cargo short pockets.

"means what it does, gal, if you let go of me while we're teleportin' you'd be lost in the void forever," he paused to take a long drag of his cigarette, "think somethin' far worse than death."

He was being far too casual for what he just said, that sort of thing not real, but, then again, she was talking to a walking skeleton right now. Maybe crushing her hand was acceptable if he was telling the truth, her eyes squinting skeptically at him.

"The Void? Like some sorta  _ endless darkness realm _ , because that's stupid, stuff like that doesn't exist," she stated bluntly that he finally turned his head to stare back to her after, the way he reacted was like if you tried to explain to someone that water was not real.

"you humans are weird and i'm too tired to explain," he brushed off truthfully which made her tense slightly, but she attempted to ignore it and did her best to calm down before she started an argument with him. This monster's indifference was not helping the situation one bit, making her unable to read him at all. Also, she figured there was no recovering between them and he likely hated her.

"Sure there's a payphone nearby for us to call someone to pick us up," she tried to point out, her voice coming out hoarse as she was torn between crying again with the build-up of emotion to the situation or yelling at him. All she wanted to do was get out of this and probably sleep for several days in a row.

"nah, my bro wouldn't be happy that i broke the human," he gave a brief shrug and added, "we'll get home and bandage you up and that's that."

This felt far more like a command than a suggestion on what should be done, causing her to feel powerless. - Did he really expect them to be able to go back to the mansion on foot then no one sees them? She scoffed mentally while already relishing in his future failure and the fact she could get back at him with this too.

"What if I just told him inst--"

Running into a solid ribcage stopped her comment, stumbling back and looking up at him standing in front her intimidatingly, his dark sockets menacing to unsettle her. After a moment, the sockets softened even though he still bore a hard stare. Lost in the slight fear she felt from the way he passively threatened her kept her from arguing against the rude interruption so she guessed ratting him out was out of the question unless she wanted to die her in sleep to a skeleton. - What a great horror film that would make.

"look, i'll make it up to you, whateva ya want later, i guess," he offered to which she was already quietly nodding, "... just don't tell sans."

He turned to continue their walk that she hesitated in following until she did not want to be left by herself, so she caught up to him with some fast steps; his long-legged strides making it difficult for her.

"Which Sans, isn't there like three of them," she asked wisely, curious how he was going to respond. Already did she hear Blueberry being called Sans, but did Red have the same name as well, or did he just have an odd name? She could not imagine someone actually being called just Red, even a monster; if she was getting anything out of this it would be information.

"i lost count, you know which one i mean," he grumbled and took a long drag of his cigarette, the smoke so thick it blew back to make her cough. - Just how many skeletons named Sans originally lived in that place if he lost count? - This only furthered her questions building up and now she could get answers out of one of these monsters.

"I want information."

On that note, she sped up her walk to be beside him and stared up at him with new intent. This conversation distracted her enough from her hand to not be focused on the floating pain even though she wanted to request he take his hoodie back first. Then again, the softness actually gave her some form of comfort and he had not mentioned needing it back just yet. He was not looking down at her now with his face forward, however, he acknowledged her request in a droop of his skull.

"shoot," was all he said and it sent an excitement to bubble in her that she could finally get some straight answers; so many things she had to get through that Sans had been so cryptic on. With this leverage and how lethargic this monster was, she bet she could get him to tell her all the secrets he knew. - That was if he knew much.

Before she could even open her mouth to begin, a loud honk cut her off to shriek in surprise instead, stumbling right into a nearby trash bin. Anger shot through her as she had every urge to yell profanities at whoever did such things while passing people on the sidewalk only to find out that the car had stopped. Stretch paused to peer over at the vehicle pulled up beside them and even in the dark she saw that bright red color. - She recognized this sporty convertible.

"AH, OTHER ME," a loud voice cut through the air like an announcer, even rivaling Blueberry while the pitch was higher-- more like Stretch, "I ALMOST DID NOT RECOGNIZE YOU WITHOUT YOUR USUAL LAZY ATTIRE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM GLAD I DID BECAUSE YOU SEEM TO BE A LONG WAYS FROM OUR ABODE... WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE? DID SANS NOT SAY YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO WANDER ON YOUR OWN?"

This newcomer turned the engine off and stepped out with the thudding of heavy red boots while he made his way over. The stumbled Patricia was still recovering from her run-in with the trash can so that when she finally got a look at who they were dealing with he was in front of Stretch. She swore if her clone theory was not correct then there had to be some sort of bizarre similarity between skeleton monsters; for all she knew there actually was. A much more proper postured mirror of Stretch stood before him, yet even if he was standing up straight this one may have had a couple inches of heigh more. His teeth were also set in a much more expressive way and his attire reminded her of  _ dressed up casual _ making her mentally question if he had just come from the celebrations most of the monsters were attending. In the introduction, she caught he referred to himself as Papyrus, faintly remembering Stretch saying he had the same name, so now she had to remember that-- would he be giving her a nickname as well? Her brain needed to straighten out these names fast because she will go crazy otherwise. Getting back to his outfit, he wore pure white slack pants and a button up dress shirt in a rich red color, but what stood out the most was a lengthy scarf in a more orange tone than his shirt. It fluttered in the wind as he posed, although she was sure there was no wind blowing. She could not question that as he finally noticed her and so he took in the situation.

"we're fine, man," Stretch brushed the other monster off, "just out for a walk so we'll be home shortly."

He was obviously trying to deter Papyrus from the situation which she wanted to scream at since she only agreed to not tell his brother and that convertible appeared mighty comfy. Wanting to voice her opinion, she was cut off by Papyrus making his way over towards her, being a good head taller than her as she had to crane her neck up. - She sure missed being around the shorter skeletons with all these taller ones making her feel small and she was not even that short for a woman.

"AT LEAST LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HUMBLY GREET YOU, FRIEND OF MY OTHER SELF! IF HE IS A FRIEND ENOUGH TO YOU TO LET YOU WEAR HIS WELL-ATTACHED, YET CRUDE, HOODIE THEN YOU ARE FRIEND ENOUGH TO... ME OF ME," he paused his speech momentarily as if he had confused himself, but shook it off real fast that reminded her of Blueberry for a split second. There was no time to question that as in the next moment she tensed at the telltale signs of an incoming hug; only a breath escaping her before he just about lifted her up in a bear hug. She did all she could to hold back her discomfort until his ribcage pressed into her injured hand that prompted a shrilling squeak that froze the tall monster immediately as if realizing he hurt her in some way. Being more aware than she expected, he quickly let go of her and set her down on her feet carefully, hands just barely hovering over her shoulders as his sockets widened with worry.

"HUMAN," he began, unsure if he should even touch her again, "DID I HURT YOU? I WAS EXERCISING EXTREME CAUTION, IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE FOR ME TO HARM YOU UNLESS YOU ARE FAR MORE FRAGILE THAN YOU APPEAR," searching attention went over her form before he realized a red stain coming through the hoodie and the indent of her hand under it, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR HAND?"

Reaching for it, he attempted to pull up the hoodie to see the offending wound, but she flinched backward from his red-gloved hands.

"N-no I'm fine!"

Her good hand raised up with the flopped-over sleeve in some attempt at showing him she was fine, yet the moment she did she winced once more that made Papyrus stare down at her with growing concern. She gave a glance towards Stretch as she was only doing this for his sake apparently, but watched him slump his shoulders in realizing this was pointless to keep from the other monster.

"yeah, she's hurt, but i rather not let my bro know. ya know how he can get," Stretch attempted to explain calmly, yet Papyrus was far from eased as he jolted to turn back towards her with purpose.

"WE MUST GET HER MEDICAL AID IMMEDIATELY," he stated more professionally than expected, "HUMANS ARE INCREDIBLY FRAGILE! IF THEY ARE INJURED TOO MUCH THEY CANNOT BE HEALED," he spoke while inspecting over her once more without touching her this time, "HAVE YOU ADMINISTERED ANY HEALING MAGIC?"

"yeah, i'm kinda drained," Stretch responded, yawning afterward to give excuse behind his words and Papyrus did not question further as his focus was sternly on her now that caused her to tense to such attention.

"HUMAN FEMALE," he got her to stare up at him, "MAY I SEE YOUR HAND, PLEASE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, PROMISE I WILL NOT HARM YOU," he asked much in the way a doctor would to a scared child, "I AM WELL VERSED IN ATTENDING TO WOUNDS OF THE FLESHY VARIETY."

Despite how gentle his words were the louder volume of his voice was still a lot to take in, her head already throbbing at the volume, but she found herself trusting him. There was more assurance towards this much friendlier Papyrus than the one currently standing nearby doing and saying nothing, slumped down in his orange hoodie. Slowly, she used her good hand to pull up the hoodie enough to reveal her injured hand with some effort, her face twisting in discomfort before she was able to hold it out towards him in a shake. She flinched away when he reached for her regardless of how slow he was going to which he paused to allow her to relax before he continued.

Surprisingly, his gloves were warm, comforting to the touch while he delicately held her hand up to lean down towards it. Silence permeated the air for long enough to become awkward as his sockets relaxed along with his grasp on her hand. In contemplation, he glanced towards Stretch now leaning against his car and then back to her as he stood up straight to rub at his jaw.

"I... uhm, is something wrong," she asked to break the lingering silence and was greeted by the warming smile of Papyrus in return.

"WELL, THIS IS UH, EMBARRASSING TO ADMIT, BUT I CANNOT SEE YOUR INJURIES VERY WELL IN THE DARK," he confessed with a shift of his sockets, "THE HASTE OF THE SITUATION CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION THOUGH," puffing his chest with new purpose that deflated with his next question, "W-we must go to the mansion, uh, well our home. Are you okay with coming with us to our home?"

That was when Stretch finally roused from his still spot.

"ah, she lives with us, bud," he said casually which took a moment to register with Papyrus, but when it did he let out a sudden gasp and stared down at her with a renewed glee. This reaction scared her into thinking he was going to for another hug, he knew better by this time thankfully so, instead, he reached behind her to direct her towards his car in a gentle nudge. This left her slightly confused and darting her eyes towards Stretch already stretched (heh) out in the back seat of the car with his sockets shut.

"THIS IS A FANTASTIC COINCIDENCE, WELL, MAYBE NOT THE FACT YOU ARE INJURED, BUT THAT I WAS HAPPENING BY YOU TWO," Papyrus proudly stated, reaching over to open the door for her, "WE CAN HEAD HOME NOW, EVEN THOUGH I DO NEED TO KNOW WHY WE SUDDENLY HAVE A HUMAN I AM NOT AWARE OF LIVING WITH US," a pause of consideration between his words as he leaned on the passenger door, "SANS... is normally good about telling me of such important details... YOU MUST ALSO LET ME KNOW YOUR NAME! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS."

"M-my name, uhm... Patricia," she whispered out, hesitating to sit in a stranger's car, "I don't think he wants his brother to know about this..."

Motioning with her head towards Stretch in the back, Papyrus took the comment into consideration, shutting the door after she sat down. After getting off her feet she shifted in the discomfort of wearing the hoodie, the blood stain inside it leaving a sticky sensation at the front of her tank top.

"WORRY NOT, HUMA-- PATRICIA," he corrected himself at the old habit, "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL GET US THROUGH UNDETECTED," at that declaration he puffed his chest and began his walk around to the driver side, "I DO AGREE THAT KEEPING THIS FROM BLUEBERRY IS FOR THE BEST," he acknowledged and settled down in his seat just as a worried look came over his expression, "He can be... intense about friends being hurt. KEEP THE OTHER ME'S CLOTHING ON TO HIDE AND EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE."

In the back of her mind, she wanted to correct him that they were not exactly friends, just having met these monsters, but that would come off as rude probably. Keeping silent she simply nodded at him and he reached forward to press a button on the dashboard after inserting the key to cause the top of the car to slide over them then the windows rolling up that held a dark tint. If this monster had not been so nice to her intentionally then she would probably feel pretty nervous about now.

"SEATBELT, PLEASE!"

The request startled her as she did her best to fasten it without using her injured hand that happened to be her left, such a mundane thing frustrating her before it clicked in.

The drive went relatively uneventful as Papyrus drove safe despite the sporty red car revving with power, but they were already at the mansion before the air conditioning even cooled her cheeks. Upon reaching the gate, there was just a flicker at the intercom and entrance slid open without any other indication. After they pulled up to park she struggled to hit the button on her seatbelt without disturbing her injury only to see a gloved hand deftly click the button for her. Papyrus let out a soft  _ nyeh _ after his assistance causing her to smile briefly at him and go to open the door which she could handle being on her good side. That did not stop Papyrus from already going to her side while she got out, peering around to watch Stretch over by the front door to peek into the side windows like a lookout.

"ALRIGHT, PATRICIA, ACT NATURAL AND WE WILL GET YOU UPSTAIRS TO CLEAN UP."

Papyrus gave a thumbs up with his free hand that was not hovering behind her to aid in leading her or react at any moment she may need it. The way he treated her like she was about to fall apart at any moment should be appreciated, yet all it did now as cause her to feel more like a burden on getting him caught up in all of this.

There was a wave from Stretch at the door and he opened it to head on inside, Papyrus motioning a nudge to signal it was okay to head on in. She did her best to walk fast, prickles on her skin at remembering they were trying to sneak in there without anyone else noticing. Such a thing was not easy now walking between two fairly long-legged monsters not entirely aware of the fact especially when her curious eyes caught glimpse of a sleeping form on the couch not far away making her freeze immediately. Biting her tongue to suppress a squeak once she felt Papyrus' hand touch the small of her back, she was really trying not to alert the absolute last monster she wanted to see right now. Red fast asleep in a well-worn spot having her nervous attention that only broke when Stretch leaned over to catch her sight as he pressed a finger up to his teeth to signal for her to be quiet. It was not helping that his hands were still covered in her blood to which Papyrus took notice of now that they were in the full light of the indoors.

Thankfully, Red did not awaken even though he let out a loud sniffling grunt and turned over to continue his slumber. They made it up the stairs without any incidents, none of the other residents being out and about just as she took in where they were now; figuring it to be the living section of the sizeable home. The tension in the air remained thick even while Papyrus slid open a door to flick the nearby switch on and reveal a public shower room complete with a dressing area. - If she were being serious, she could compare it closer to a spa really. - There was a bench in the dressing area that she was lead to sit down on, and once she did she wiggled, trying to pull off the hoodie. In seeing her struggle, Stretch made his way over to her and Papyrus went hunting down a first aid kit from the nearby cabinets. It would surprise her if he found one in a monster home, but what actually surprised her was feeling hard hands helping her take the hoodie off without a lot of care. She sucked in a pained breath at her injury being brushed before she was finally free from the fabric, her hair tousled enough to block her enraged expression at Stretch already shaking off his jacket after getting it back.

"D-don't tou--"

She bit her tongue, so wanting to yell at him, but he raised an eyebrow her direction making her figure he had enough blame for now as well as literal blood on his hands. The stains were far worse now that she could see them in the light, her attention going down to her hand that brought realization back to her just how injured she really was, a shake going through her. Nearby, Stretch only let out a long sigh at the shape his hoodie was left in and his own hands making it worse, yet it was no more than a minor inconvenience for him.

"PATRICIA, I MUST CLEAN YOUR WOUND BEFORE I CAN ATTEMPT TO HEAL IT. I DO NOT WISH TO CAUSE ANY BLOOD CLOTS OR ABNORMALITIES," Papyrus said far too professionally as if he dealt with this before, it made her wonder if he was a doctor. A coarse sensation against her skin broke her thoughts, wincing back at realizing he had taken those soft gloves of his off and was trying to gently grasp her hand, "SORRY, DID I HURT YOU?"

"N-no, it just hurts to move, sorry."

Recollecting herself, she shook her head at him and took note that his bones were still lingering with warmth from the gloves that made her curious if they were heated. He worked to turn over her hand and examine it thoroughly. She felt bad for making him deal with this injury, yet he did seem qualified to do so and not taking her to a hospital. It was strange, but she had heard monsters tended to each other over heading to a medical facility. The noise of a sink turning on nearby had her gazing over to Stretch attempting to rinse the blood from the front of his hoodie making her feel slightly guilty at staining it.

"I CANNOT PROMISE THIS TREATMENT WILL NOT HURT ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE NEW TO MAGIC," Papyrus described to her comfortingly, "YOU ALSO HAVE NOTHING TO BE SORRY FOR, YOU ARE THE ONE INJURED, NOT I."

His reassurance was warming, the change of pace welcomed as she found herself watching him work, dabbing rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. The mere smell of the stuff reminded her that this was certainly going to sting so she brought her free hand to her mouth to lightly bite on her knuckle just as he was beginning to clean the wound. Her hiss of pain muffled into her finger and she kept still as possible for him while more of the punctures became revealed. He paused while his own lined up with the injury, a deliberation narrowing his sockets, but he shook his head as if avoiding the situation. Since she was watching him, she discerned the way he was observing the way this looked.

"I uh, tripp--"

A hand raised in front of her to stop her from continuing that statement and then returned to cupping her hand, he was not going to let her try to explain something he could plainly see.

"I DO NOT NEED TO KNOW THE REASON, PATRICIA," he said and his hands began to glow a lighter orange than she saw Stretch using, "ONLY THAT YOU ARE OKAY AND IT WAS NOT OUT OF ILL INTENT," he partially asked before posing confident to his last statement, "DO NOT WORRY, FOR RIGHT NOW YOU ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH!"

The healing magic felt far more intense than when Stretch used his, the application of it overshadowing the continued cleaning process of rubbing alcohol. It felt, incredibly weird like her skin was crawling over itself while he was keeping the area clean so that the wound could close properly, but the magic was far less invasive coming from Papyrus. She wondered if it had to do with emotions towards the monster as she hated to admit that her feelings towards Stretch were mixed. Just thinking of the other monster in the room had her peering towards him hunched over the sink in an attempt at cleaning his hoodie still, no other emotions coming from him even in the reflection of the mirror showing his tired gaze. The two of them were like night and day.

"PATRICIA, I MAY NEED TO DO SOMETHING THAT HURTS FAR MORE THAN WHAT YOU JUST EXPERIENCED," Papyrus brought her attention back, "YOUR BONE MENDED WRONG AND NEEDS TO BE STRAIGHTENED OUT. P-please, bear with this..."

Papyrus' voice cracked for the first time that sent chills down her spine to feeling as though this was not going to be pretty. He knew he was about to do something which would hurt her, guilt already furrowing his brow bones. She had to say something, unwilling to just let him consider himself blameworthy.

"It's okay like you said, I'm in the hands of the great Papyrus," she said weakly and forced a smile to cover up how terrified she actually was, this whole day being a roller coaster just had this feeling like some grand finale.

The faucet nearby slammed off with a metal on bone clank earning a jolt out of her and having her glimpse at Stretch with his back to them, he looked frustrated by something he overheard. She assumed he was just having a difficult time cleaning his jacket, but it was enough distraction away to make her neglect that Papyrus was about to begin the more in-depth healing procedure.

CRACK! Hot, white pain seared through her hand and she promptly screamed that startled both of the taller skeletons, but Papyrus concentrated on mending the broken bone. He readjusted her bone inside her hand, having to rebreak it and align it properly that was anything but gentle, the firm grip he had kept her from yanking away. The bone moved within her hand at the glimmer of his magic that induced her to scream out again. There was no way she could hold it back with a faint feeling washing over her after the sheer shock of it all. Soon, the numbing sensation from the more potent magic flowed across her nerves, giving her light to the heat at her cheeks. Did she passively get... turned on by the pain?

Through her hard heartbeat and the buzzing in her ears, she could not hear Papyrus' string of sorries until the process was over, the pain subsiding into a tingling sensation like some sort of strong drug being applied. Only after the magic faded did she realize she was awkwardly locked up, a cold sweat soaking her skin, and trembles coursing through at every breath.

"PATRICIA? YOU SHOULD BE OKAY NOW. DO YOU STILL FEEL PAIN?"

Papyrus' concerns finally were heard by her and she blinked away stray tears to bring herself back to reality after such an experience. She moved to wipe a stray drip of drool away, but the smell of rubbing alcohol hit her that caused her to realize she was using her previously broken hand to do so. Blinking in amazement, she started to flex and soften her hand, the area healed-- no longer broken as the signs left behind were the scars at the puncture wounds in her palm as well as lingering bruising around where the break had happened.

"T.. t-that's, how did you do that," she whispered, although she was sure that her hand was far more messed up before Stretch had done the first heal. She felt bad and wanted to turn around and thank him, but when she did, he was gone. - That was not helping her guilt. - In that case, she turned to Papyrus instead to find him looking drained, concerning her enough to ask, "Are you okay?"

"DO NOT BE TROUBLED ABOUT ME, PATRICIA. IT IS ONLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE OKAY NOW, BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE I CAN DO ANYMORE HEALING FOR TONIGHT THOUGH, SO PLEASE DO NOT GE--"

SLAM! A bursting crack of wood shocked through the room and the door nearby just about flying off its frame. - The thing not even being locked so whoever took the effort to do that was not even considerate enough to just slide it open. - Her initial thought was Blueberry which had her on pins and needles, but what she saw was much more worrisome, a flash of red magic buzzing around the room.

"who de fuckin' hell up here hurtin' da slut," Red yelled with such spite that one of his eye sockets were already dark and the other flared brilliantly in red so intense she could see smoke trails coming off the damn thing. That burning orb fell on her then whipped over to Papyrus, the glow giving off a pulse of a threat as if he were ready for a fight.

"THAT WAS INCREDIBLY UNNECESSARY. YOU SCARED THE POOR HUMAN," Papyrus bravely scolded and stood up to face the very angry Red, not a hint of being afraid of him as if he was used to these outbursts. The shorter monster's attitude faltered briefly as if he saw someone else, but he shook it off to stomp his way over and stand on his toes in an attempt to reach a better height-- still being half a head shorter though. He was outright growling as he reached to jab a claw right against Papyrus' chest, the sharp nature of it ripping a hole in that nice dress shirt with ease.

"'cuse me, ya fuck?! i hear screamin' of pains n' come here ta see ya playin' wit' da slut n' i'm de scary one?"

He harshly spat a hissing breath that had Patricia nearby bristling with frustration that he was speaking in such a way towards the only who healed her. The only thing keeping her from springing over to punch him was her fear of how menacing he looked, but she still found herself stepping forward after a swift stand. A gentle arm extended to block her progress, Papyrus maintaining focus on Red as he had kept her from a possible mistake. She looked over the limb with confusion killing her initial anger.

"RED, LANGUAGE, THIS HUMAN WAS CLEARLY INJURED AND I WAS TENDING TO HER," he began to explain to which Red already began to back down at, "YOU SHOULD BE MORE THAN AWARE THAT HEALING MAGIC CAN HURT WHEN MENDING MAJOR INJURIES, AND I AM NOT THE CAUSE OF HER INITIAL INJURY, ONLY HER RECOVERY."

There was a light scolding in Papyrus' tone despite an intimidating flare of red from Red, but at least he was not about to start throwing punches. Having the moment to think let her wonder why he was even reacting like this; Red is the only one that actually tried to hurt her, and now, he acted like some sort of aggressive protector for her well being. Such a hypocritical show made her angry enough to want to say something, yet hard growling cut her off.

"den who de fuck hurt her?"

He darted his eyes around the empty shower room, no one else in there except for them, so he scowled at them, specifically her. Making his way over to her made her stiffen at every step he took until there was only Papyrus' arm blocking them. - He was eye level with her even in her heels. - The sound of him sniffing her way made her flinch, he was trying to determine whose magic was on her. Not being able to determine it right away, he let out a disgusted breath shortly after.

"who hurtcha, sweetheart? dontcha dare lie ta me. dere's mawh den one scent on yous."

"I--" her voice froze with fear, especially unable to lie under such a stare and so his eyes darted down to the blood on her clothes then snapped back up to her face to lean forward in a snarl. Her legs shook and she stepped back. Red instantly reached up to Papyrus' arm in an attempt to remove the barrier between them, but it held firm along with a startled  _ nyeh _ coming from the taller skeleton.

"CALM DOWN, OTHER  _ ME _ \--  **AHEM** , STRETCH FOUND HER OUTSIDE THE HOME WITH AN INJURY AND SO WE BROUGHT HER HOME WHEN I FOUND THEM ON MY WAY BACK FROM THE CELEBRATIONS," Papyrus broke the tension by explaining, "DO NOT HARASS HER FOR ANSWERS, SHE IS ALREADY SHAKEN AFTER SUCH A TRAUMATIC INJURY!"

Papyrus caught Red's attention once again having him take a step over to him once more in an attempt at being intimidating, but before he could say anything a weak breath escaped from Patricia.

"I.. I-I fell," she lied to try to help, but it did nothing but turn that anger back to her in a flash. Just her fear at him looking her way again caused her lie to be painfully obvious and so he searched around her body, trying to pinpoint where the blood had come from-- her injured hand at her side just enough to be out of direct view. Papyrus had done a good job at cleaning her up, no indication of where she had been hurt if he did not know where to look.

Finally, fed up with the situation, he flung his hands in the air and turned to exit the room.

"bullshit, fuck dis. i'll finds out on my own. - too fuckin' damn shit tired," he grumbled on leaving out of sight. A long silence befell the room that prolonged enough for it to grow awkward and she rubbed her arm with a glance up to Papyrus then over towards the broken down door. One of her cheeks puffing at thinking of what she should even say, a lingering thought of wondering if she was in charge of cleaning that up now.

"PATRICIA," Papyrus saying her name perked her up, "I APOLOGIZE, THIS IS PROBABLY A HORRIBLE WAY TO GET ALONG WITH YOUR NEW ROOMMATES, BUT PERHAPS LATER I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO MY WONDERFUL SPAGHETTI! THAT IS SURE TO BRIGHTEN THE SITUATION, NYEH HEH HEH!"

He posed dramatically after a turn towards her in his offer that caused a soft smile to come across her lips. All things considered, she came out of this situation pretty well, yet she had no idea how she was going to survive this house. The way he said they were roommates and even earlier being unsure how she was living there made her wonder if he knew about her being hired. The others apparently knew, but maybe he was just not told yet.

"I uhm, well-- that's going to suck to clean up," she mentioned, trying to change the subject as she pointed towards the broken down door, however, Papyrus just looked down at her confused then let out a  _ nyeh heh _ laughter.

"DO NOT WORRY, IT WILL BE ATTENDED TO," he waved off that concern and leaned down to her, "THAT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ESPECIALLY SINCE I AM FAR MORE CURIOUS HOW YOU HAVE COME TO LIVE WITH US."

Papyrus grew a cautious look and stroked his long jaw, eyeing her close now like an inspector searching for a clue. Such attention made her nervous, but she perked up while lightly hitting her fist into her palm at an idea. With that, she pointed towards the broken down door to tear his attention away.

"It's my job now to handle that sort of thing."

That was not helping one bit as he placed his hands on his hips now to cock his skull in further confusion, the connection going over his head.

"YOU ARE HERE TO... handle Red's outbursts," he questioned partially under his breath with a tinge of skepticism, "By the way, you looked when he came in I believe that you are an ill fit for the job, Patricia. Y-you would probably faint if he did something... more murder-y."

Papyrus gave a shifty look laced with apprehension and she held back the sting of her pride at his lack of confidence in her. - Ironic though that she had already fainted once before of Red.

"N-no not that, I handle messes now for you guys because I'm the new maid?"

She raised her hands in a questioning gesture, egging on any sort of memory he may have of hearing about that, but he continued to show uncertainty at this predicament. It was strange that he was the only one, so far, that was unaware of Sans hiring a maid.

"YOU ARE OUR NEW MAID," he questioned out to himself, "SANS, MY LAZYBONES OF A BROTHER, I ASSUME IS THE ONE WHO HIRED YOU, BUT HE WOULD HAVE INFORMED ME AS I HAVE REPEATEDLY TOLD HIM IT IS FAR TOO DANGEROUS TO HAVE ANY OTHER MONSTERS, ESPECIALLY HUMANS, LIVING HERE," he scolded, but not directed at her as instead, his expression softened when he gazed back down at her with pity, "WITH SO MANY... colorful characters... PASSING THROUGH HERE THAT WOULD BE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO HANDLE FOR ONE SMALL HUMAN, SUCH AS YOURSELF. WE DO NOT EVEN HAVE OTHER MONSTER STAFF THAT IS NOT OURSELF."

Papyrus' answer felt far too honest for her not to believe which was not making her feel comfortable about what she got herself into, her shoulders tensing. Questions bombarding her mind of why Sans would be going behind other residents put on top of how fast this whole arrangement had been-- this all left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Maybe we should talk to Sans? He said he was getting the paperwork ready while we moved my stuff here."

She had no idea where her possessions were set up or where she was supposed to be living because she had not seen Blueberry on their way in.

"SANS IS NOT HOME YET, HE WAS ATTENDING THE CELEBRATION TONIGHT FROM WHICH I CAME HOME EARLY TO BE UP BRIGHT AND EARLY TOMORROW. WORK COMES BEFORE PLAY, AFTER ALL, Nyeh heh heh..."

Papyrus' laughter sputtered out with a dip in his high boned smile, exhaustion being apparent on him after such use of magic, but he hid it to the best of his ability to not worry her. It had been missed by her during her anxiety of having to wait until Sans got home to have anything explained especially since she could not really just go back to an empty apartment at this point.

"W.. w-what should I-- uhm, do then," she squeaked out, having no idea what time it even was which made her far too aware of her absent cellphone.

"I DO APOLOGISE, BUT I MUST RETIRE FOR MY WORK IS QUITE IMPORTANT IN THE MORNING AND... healing you took far more magic than I intended," he yawned between his statement, "FORGIVE ME, BUT DO NOT FRET, YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE S RED WILL BE ASLEEP SHORTLY," he shook a finger at her with his last mention, "Unless you disturb him, so do not do that. He is worse than Sans, I swear."

The more he spoke the more tired he became as even the volume of his voice went down making her feel guilty at partially being the cause of that. A long breath escaped her while she forced a smile the best she could up at him.

"I'll let you head to bed, but can I ask something?"

"BUT OF COURSE, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ANSWER ANYTHING YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW!"

"I--"

She bit her tongue to seeing his eager stare at awaiting her inquiry. Actually, she did not want to strain him with all this, especially since he seemed like an outside party to what was going on so she shook her head.

"Thank you, for healing me and helping us home."

A surprise came over his face and he blinked, not truly expecting such words and he cracked his smile back up to its full height, pride leaking through.

"NYEH HEH HEH! I MEAN, I TRULY AM GREAT, BUT THAT IS NOT A QUESTION," his chest puffed with confidence, "NO NEED TO THANK ME, PATRICIA. IT IS MY DUTY TO MAKE SURE OTHERS ARE SAFE."

During his words, his fingers found the hole in his shirt that Red made, a sudden look of annoyance while he eyed it. He figured that shirt was ruined now, but it gave him a moment to hold back his own further questions about the situation.

"I'll let you sleep and i'm going to find out which room all my boxes were put in. - I'm not sure where Blueberry took them, maybe I can find Stretch to-- tell me," her voice trailed off to remembering him, nearly forgetting he left the room before the healing was concluded. Papyrus nodded towards her that brought her attention back up to him when he headed out of the bathroom with a soft  _ nyeh _ and wave. This left her alone, anxiety building up to this being a foreign home despite supposedly living there now. She used this moment to look herself over in a nearby mirror, her makeup completely ruined and the rest of her as if she had just got out of a bar fight. - The conclusion was that she looked and felt like shit.

She needed to calm down and the best way she figured was by leaning down to the sink and washing her face off. The warm water made her let out a long sigh after splashing it on her face, it felt far too good while she got to work cleaning her face. Without any facial wash, she did the best she could before grabbing a small towel set in a pile, seemingly unused, dabbing herself dry. Not wanting to give away her horrible state to anyone she may run into, she scrubbed at the blood left on her attire as well as cleaning off her arms. Not much she could do, but it would do for now. Taking the time to herself, she wondered why only Red had rushed up here at her screaming, surely there were more people living here and was Blueberry not home? Guess she would find out soon enough. She took her leave out of the shower room after the temptation to take one not being high enough to block out any embarrassment she would have if anyone walked in on her.

It was quiet out in the hallway, nervously looking the way they had entered and then down in the darker part of it. Unsure of where to even look, she figured she should head downstairs. Actually, she turned to instead head down the opposite way of the downstairs, remembering that Red had been sleeping on the couch earlier. It could not hurt to go looking around first to possibly waste time until he supposedly would fall asleep.

First door she encountered was next to the shower room, similar in style which made her curious if it was a bathroom. Slowly opening it, she felt around for a light switch, her hand brushing past something wet that had her pulling away at the sensation. Her nose curled in disgust before she finally found the switch. The smell of wet paint hit her just as she saw it actually was a small bathroom, cozy at that too, and freshly applied cyan blue on the walls. Regardless of that, she was just happy to see a regular restroom she could use later especially this being a monster home, yet for now, she left it to make her way down the hallway. Casually, she wiped the wet paint on her pants, figuring they were messed up enough as is anyhow. She traveled deeper now, the first door she came across catching her eye and it was, well, very black. The doorknob, a blood red and not something she wanted to touch along with large claw marks decorating the whole thing with splinters of wood on the floor. - Alright, nope, next door.

The next door was purple of all things, causing her to question their decoration choices, but she held her tongue as she realized it did not even have a doorknob, just a keypad over on the door frame. There was no way this was where she needed to go, almost forgetting why she was even up here. - Oh right, she needed to find either where her stuff was or where Blueberry was at if he was even home. - Smacking her forehead at her stupidity, she took into consideration that she may not even be living in the main estate, there often is a guest house for workers.

So with that, she turned to abandon this snooping trip and head downstairs. It was far too creepy up here anyhow, giving one more glance over her shoulder to the dimmed half of the upper floor. A light flickering made her jump and walk faster. Once she finally reached the top of the stairs, it was brightly lit inside the central part of this place so she walked down the grand steps that just made her all too aware of how worn her body was. - Having her hand crushed had that effect. - The amazement that magic had done enough to keep her from being in the ER bubbled up inside her. No wonder monsters never went to hospitals.

Her shamble towards the living room type area (or perhaps a lounge?) was cut off by the loud snoring of a familiar growl laced variety. It was Red and he was fast asleep on that massive couch. Thankfully he did not wake up, but what caught her attention was soft tapping against a screen, darting her eyes to someone seated not far from the slumbering beast. Blueberry sat there that sent a relieving smile on her until she realized the device he was toying with was her phone of all things; her face paled to him snooping through her personal property. He was lost in fascination with whatever he was engrossed in that caused her cheeks to flush at realizing there were things in there an innocent mind most certainly should not be looking at. No time to question how he even got her passcode, she made her way over that finally got his attention. Upon seeing her, he began to vibrate with excitement and she tried to make a shushing motion at him to not wake up Red, but he was already on the verge of jumping up, nearly dropping her phone in the process. He took care to shove it into his armor instead.

"HUMAN HUMAN HUMAN," he yelled out in joy that made her cringe, so much for being quiet, "YOU'VE FINALLY RETURNED, I GOT WORRIED AND VALIANTLY KEPT WATCH AT YOUR APARTMENT UNTIL YOU POSSIBLY RETURNED, BUT PAPS CAME BY AND TOLD ME I COULD HEAD HOME SAYING YOU WERE HERE ALREADY-- BUT, BUT WHEN I CAME HOME I HEARD YOUR PHONE RINGING AND AND--"

Blueberry's rambles went so fast she missed half of what he said, trying to shush at him not to wake up Red, really not wanting to deal with his wrath once more, but much to her surprise, he did not even budge. Must be a much deeper sleeper than she thought since she had screamed quite loudly earlier. At least she knew why Blueberry did not hear her, he was not here.

"It's al--"

"fuckin' keep it down, ya whore! tryin' ta fuckin' sleeps and fuck and shit," Red grumbled out sleepily to interrupt her that left her wondering why he was only reacting when she tried to talk and not when Blueberry was near-yelling right next to him. - Oh that bastard, she would show him a string of cuss words he was so fond of. - Blueberry intervened and stomped over sternly to kick the couch cushion under Red. - No wait, do not poke the beast!

"LANGUAGE!! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SPEAKING THAT WAY AROUND OR TOWARDS THE HUMAN! LEAVE IF YOU'RE GOING TO ACT LIKE THAT," Blueberry firmly commanded, but all he got was an ass scratch in response from Red. It got her looking at his, well, lack of ass in those black basketball shorts lined with yellow and his dirty, untied sneakers making a mess of the couch. Dread filling her that she was going to need to clean that up.

"bite my ass, pipsqueak," Red snarled and settled back down on the comfy couch, his back towards them. Before she got the chance to say anything to the situation, she felt her hand caught in a gloved grip-- her previously hurt hand. She flinched on reflex to yank it away from Blueberry attempting to grasp it, holding it protectively to her chest with it sensitive to the touch. On realizing her blunder, she looked away from him quickly, unsure what to say as she could only await his reaction. His eye lights shrunk considerably and he caught sight of the shape she was in. This had her on pins and needles, really hoping he did not realize she had been injured. He breathed in subtly and leaned closer to her, inspecting her while his normally so bright of blue eyes dimmed ever so slightly. - He surely did not notice the stains on her attire? Can monsters smell blood? - She did not want to get Stretch in trouble more than he already was, so she settled down and held her hand out to him to grip once more, perhaps distracting him. At that notion, Blueberry's expression lightened up considerably seemingly not noticing the bruises on her hand. - Or was he purposely not saying anything?

"HUMAN," he said that caused her to startle, "LET US GO TO YOUR ROOM, I GREW BORED WAITING AND WENT AHEAD TO UNPACK ALL OF YOUR ITEMS! MWEH HEH HEH! I AM CONFIDENT YOU WILL BE SATISFIED WITH MY JOB."

There was a long exhale of relief from her at him not realizing what was going on which worked out for her, watching him return to his joyful self, but it was still unsettling her slightly. She had to do a double take on what he said when she could have sworn he mentioned using her phone and that he had unpacked all of her stuff. Her face already began to heat in disbelief, but he tugged her along upstairs with only a squeak of breath escaping from her. Her hand still so sore, especially when he pulled on it, yet she was determined to hold in the pain. A victorious  _ mweh heh heh _ escaped Blueberry as he pulled her upstairs.

Red peered over his shoulder in observation to the interaction, neither of them noticing his watching on that and their exit. He let out a grunt and rolled back over to go back to sleep for now.


	4. Fountain of Lies

"WHAT DO YOU THINK, HUMAN," Blueberry outstretched his arms in a show, displaying the room before her, "HAS I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, MADE YOUR ROOM THE ABSOLUTE LUXURY OF COMFORT?"

At first, she was going to think bedroom, but this place dwarfed her entire apartment; much to her dismay, it actually was located near the other rooms she snooped at earlier. Walking forward in slight shock of both being dragged up here and seeing this massive room, her legs felt like jelly. The floors were a light wood that appeared brand new then covering part of the room was the coziest cyan rug she had ever seen. - She most certainly did not own that, but she also did not think about how furniture was going to be arranged. She really would have been okay with just a mattress on the ground with her boxes. - Speaking of a mattress, the bed was nothing to belittle, surely a king size with that ever reoccurring light blue present on the blanket laid across it and pristine white sheets looking brand new as well. Those pillows were surely giant marshmallows with how puffy they were, including an adorable star plush sat in the middle to bring it all together. The bed frame itself is the same light wood as the floor and sitting next to the bed was another wood piece, a dresser that already had items she recognized organized on top of it as well as a mirror above it.

Viewing her own reflection caused her to turn and see a bookcase, a lot of her items placed neater than she could ever muster to do so herself, but that was not all, an opened walk-in closet set off to the side that she would have to explore later. In another corner of the room was a slick computer desk where her laptop already sat with the charger. - Was that her art equipment? - Seeing it so neatly placed made her blush. Her sketchbook sitting not too far from it which was full of drawings she really hoped he had not peeked at. Speaking of things she would not like him to see, she would have to see what had become of her less than innocent items, just the thought of Blueberry handling those made her heart sink, but she knew from his excited bouncing he was just trying to help by doing this all for her.

Snapping out of her dazed thought, she made her way around the room, still overwhelmed by the simple, yet clean decor and through all her amazement she completely forgot that he had unpacked all her items without asking her. - Someone she barely knew had touched everything she owned! - Turning back to him, she wanted to be angry, yet upon seeing his lit up expression of anticipation, she could not muster it.

"B-blueberry, you didn't have to do all this," she muttered out, trying not to look directly at him through her bashful state, "I, uhm, how did you do all of this in such a short time? It's so much, and uh, I'm so sorry if you saw anything er, unsavory..."

Just the mere thought of him handling certain  _ toys _ had her face heating tenfold, although she really hoped she had hidden those well enough that he may have disregarded it. That was not even the last thought as she realized he had touched her clothes too, including her unmentionables.

"MWEH HEH HEH!! DO NOT FRET, HUMAN, IT WAS NO PROBLEM FOR THE MAGNIFICENT SANS AND YOU NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT PERSONAL ITEMS AS I AM USED TO HANDLING MY BROTHER'S MESSES. HE IS FAR MORE  _ UNSAVORY _ THAN YOU," Blueberry remarked as she was not sure if he actually did see scandalous items or not. Right now, she was sure she would explode in overheat if she tried to ask him directly, the blushing already making her dizzy. Actually, she felt faint in general as she nearly stumbled forward.

"I... I think I need to rest," she said through gritted teeth and Blueberry moved next to her in a snap, his eyes dimming with concern. She saw him raise his hands and begin to inspect her before she felt one against her forehead. Odd, his gloves were not heated like Papyrus', but they warmed against her skin and he pulled away immediately after doing that.

"HUMAN, YOU ARE HORRIBLY PALE AND SWEATY," he asked, but his voice lowered to question further, "What happened between when you left with Paps and arrived...  **h e r e** ?"

There was something unsettling about the last word he said, a serious look about him and those blue lights dimming to nearly going out. He stared at her, through her and judging her reaction as he awaited a response. Shit, she was bad enough at lying so she snapped her face away from him.

"N-nothing, he-- uh, took me out for a walk to get some air," her lies were horrible with the quiver on her breath, "Y... y-you saw I was worked pretty hard after all that packing."

It was tough to even speak between the faint feeling she was getting and his searching stare, but why did she feel so faint, did she get an infection or maybe the minor blood loss got to her. Too much worry clouded her thoughts. Returning her gaze to Blueberry, she saw dark sockets void of eye lights which immediately came back to her attention towards him. His permanent smile raised higher, genuine in appearance and he puffed his chest out confidently causing her to wonder if he really believed her.

"YOU DID A GOOD JOB FOR A HUMAN," he proclaimed as some sort of praise, "I DO UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE LESS CAPABILITY THAN I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, SO WE WILL BE SURE TO START TRAINING YOU TO GET BETTER AT THAT! MWEH HEH HEH," he confidently laid out without even asking her first, "GET YOUR REST, FOR NOW, BECAUSE I MUST GO MAKE SURE PAPS ACTUALLY SLEEPS IN HIS BED TONIGHT," he grew a thoughtful look between his words, "THE OTHERS SHOULD BE HOME LATE, SO DO NOT BOTHER GETTING UP AGAIN IF YOU HEAR NOISES! FOR-NOW-GOODNIGHT-HUMAN!"

With that, he swiftly made an exit through her door, closing it right after leaving. She reached out a hand as if wanting to stop him, but she said nothing and curled her hand back towards herself to look over her palm where the scars were still barely visible. That felt out of character for him to leave so suddenly, especially with her looking so faint. However, what Stretch said to her before their teleportation incident flashed in her mind to cause her to really question if that was out of character; these monsters were still new to her so she was in no place to judge how they truly acted.

Well, she was alone now at least, allowing her eyes to go to the giant room she was left with. The wonderment of actually living here now felt like some big, vivid dream, or perhaps even a joke. If this was a joke then this was the cruelest she would ever think monsters could do to someone. Slumping her shoulders, she let out the longest sigh she could muster and nearly fell to the floor right there, that bed ever so enticing, but she wanted to check on personal belongings and make sure everything was accounted for. - Was it even legal for her to move someplace so fast as she remembered having to be homeless for weeks just waiting on the paperwork at her previous apartment, a secret she kept from even her parents?

After kicking off her shoes, she made her way across the rug, noting the color present in the whole room here and there. She wondered if the skeletons just liked blue since both Blueberry and Sans had it in their attire, although this room was decorated in a lighter shade if she wanted to be picky about it. Perhaps just a nice looking color; it sure was calming after all and she wiggled her sock covered toes on the soft texture just to that thought.

It did not take her long to sift through the drawers, all her clothes folded neatly and organized perfectly, except her sock drawer which looked as though they were just tossed in hastily without any regard. Being too minor to worry about, she shrugged it off and found one of the drawers containing her  _ toys _ box which was still shut. She was so glad to see that she had not accidentally tainted the innocent soul of Blueberry with what was inside. Although she briefly wondered just how old he was, his personality conflicting with him being a monster; not to mention, she was not well versed in monster anatomy since they varied in so many sizes. Shaking the curiosity off, she continued her searching, soon figuring every item was accounted for, except for kitchenware. In the closet though, she found a box containing her bathroom items and then her flat screen tv was set on a stand across from the bed complete with her gaming rigs, she almost forgot entirely about those.

Now she was allowed to lay down, doing so to flop right on that giant bed, but it begged the question of how the lease would be formatted. Sans would not be back until late to get with her about that, but she was not going to wait for him so she could go to sleep in case that was not for another few hours... or maybe it was smarter to wait cause of what had happened. Fact is, she was completely unsure if she should even report earlier as an incident since she was not officially working there yet with the lack of paperwork. Rolling over on the bed, she stared down at the rubbed stains of blood still on her outfit, surprised that Blueberry had not noticed that obvious detail. Despite not wanting to get it on the bed, she was so tired, her eyes already feeling heavy. - Was this bed laced with sleeping pills or something, she could not even lift herself up while her vision grew blurry. - A yawn escaped her and she snuggled up on top of the blanket, sleep overtaking her promptly.

\--The Next Morning--

The ceiling was now in her vision after her eyes shot open, allowing her to notice little stars plastered all over it. Something heavy laid across her and she glanced down to see it was only the blankets, realizing she was tucked in, but she did not remember getting under the covers; no wonder it was suddenly so hot. She kicked at them to push them off before her mind raced to wondering who even tucked her in, her first suspicion being Blueberry, but she could have also just crawled under them herself at some point in the night. She groaned, wondering what time it even was while she tried to figure out where her phone could be even in this foreign bed. Sudden shock clouding her even further at remembering that Blueberry used her phone!

**_DING!_ ** Speak of the devil. - There were no windows in this bedroom that made her phone's light obvious and it vibrated to indicate its presence on the small nightstand nearby. Reaching over to it, she hastily checked what the notification was, just an email which was nothing special. Other than that everything looked to be in order. Satisfied with that, for now, she set the phone back down on the nightstand to wonder if she should just get up now, but once she gazed at how soft the bed was she found herself rolling back over to lay back down. No one was forcing her to get up yet and it was early, so five more minutes will not kill her.

\--A couple hours later.--

"ey, girlie."

A deep growl roused her out of her slumber, but she only turned to snuggle deeper into the soft bed, ignoring it to be a sound going on downstairs in her half asleep mindset. That did not stop whoever made that growl as a huff of frustration came from the figure stomping towards her bed, the loud thud of his footsteps bringing her back from the comfort of nearly falling asleep once more.

"oi, get your fuckin' ass up, bitch!"

"red, chill dude. my bro told me to wake her, not you."

Two different voices were beginning to argue as she recognized them immediately, fear shooting through her at them being in the room now at all times. With this, she pulled the blanket overhead, hoping to hide from the wrath of Red and the guilt of Stretch. - No no no, she is asleep. Go away.

"i'll comes wake de slut if i fuckin' wanna, whatcha gonna do 'bout it, weed breath," Red hissed towards the other, but she could not see what was happening. A buzzing crackled through the room like static which made her huddle deeper into the blankets.

"man, relax, i really don't care what you do," Stretch stated apathetically after a sound of bones scraping, or was that rattling, she could not tell from the darkness under her blanket. - Monsters can not get you under the covers, right?

"whateva, i ain't fuckin' dealin' wit' your shit," came Red's spats again before she heard stomping out of the room. - Okay, that is one down, but now there was still another she had to wait out, not wanting to face the guilt of last night so early in the morning.

A long pause came after as she wondered if Stretch also left, but a sudden shift of weight on the bed made her curl up closer in her spot, even scooting to the side of the bed that was against the wall. She was too scared to put the covers down and more silence dragged on that went for a few minutes, then almost twenty had passed. One of them was going to have to break this awkwardness. Taking a deep breath, she finally peeked out from under the covers to see that he had not left, instead, he sat there at the end of the bed; just, sitting there with his back towards her and shoulders slumped like he normally was. The silent tension was killing her so she slowly scooted over and cleared her throat to try to alert him, quickly diving back under the blanket after only to have him not react. She pulled the cover back down to raise an eyebrow at his unmoving form.

"Uhm, Stretch," she said meekly, still gaining no reply from him which began to worry her as she moved over just enough to prod at him with her foot from under the covers. She finally got a response, but it was a sleepy grunt before silence again. Wondering if he had fallen asleep, she let out a long sigh and slipped her feet out and onto the floor, it was cold that alerted her to her socks being gone. That was the last of her worries as her face turned beet red at seeing that she was just in her tank top and panties, her breath caught in her throat with a cough. Her noise caused Stretch to wake up in an alert to thinking something had happened, but before his sights went over to her she darted back under the covers. - She wanted to cry, why was she half naked?

"hrm, gal? heh, dozed off there, needed to come tell ya breakfast was ready, i guess," Stretch stated casually, not having seen her at all, so he stood up off the bed and gave a curious glance around the room. He shuffled his way over to the door with an expression on his face as if he wanted to say something, but instead made his way out. - Another time, he figured as he did not care enough to deal with her right now. - She, though, was far too occupied with hiding her apparent half nudity under the covers, trembling a bit that she almost exposed herself to one of her roommates; or were they her employers, she needed to figure that out later. Raising the blankets to get a better look at her clothes, the realization hit her that she was not even in the tank top she fell asleep in, a clean one on her and any of her other dirty clothes nowhere in sight, but at least her panties were the same-- yet, with her bra missing. Not all of her modesty stripped away as this was degrading regardless cause now she did not know which of the skeletons had redressed her. She did not feel anything different, so no foul play and no claw marks were present so she doubted it could have been Red. That left literally every other monster she had met and any she had not yet.

What a way to start the day, the thoughts of just quitting now before it got out of hand were hard pressed on her mind. Maybe live in her parent's house while they are on vacation until she can afford a new place, but those were hasty thoughts while she pulled the blankets down again as she was starting to sweat under them, fluffy blankets were not the most comfortable in this summer heat. She made extra sure no one was in the bedroom before slipping out of the bed again and instantly going over to the door to look for some sort of lock. Thankfully, there was one as she clicked it. Okay, no more skeletons barging in while she was going to try to get dressed so, with haste, she did just that.

Not too long later, she was outfitted in a simple skater dress, thigh high socks, and matching sneakers, making her way down the grand staircase. Thoughts distracting her from the awkward morning. She still could not believe she was in some giant mansion, this was a dream most people gave their entire lives to try to experience, much less getting to live in such a home. Her hand gliding on the railing as she descended with thoughts of being a beautiful princess coming into her brain before she was met with something wet. The scrunch of disgust on her face obvious and she moved her hand away to see that there had been a glob of substance on the railing smeared along it. If it were not for the fact it was a bright yellow color she would think something far worse. Upon giving it a sniff, she reeled back realizing it was mustard of all things, cleaning this place was going to be a challenge. Not wanting to get the condiment on her dress, she made her way towards what she assumed the kitchen was. Her hand kept dangled away from her body in disgust as she pushed open the swinging doors.

The smell she was greeted with was actually pleasant, like a breakfast house and she could even hear the sizzling of eggs nearby.

"HUMAN!! YOU HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED," came the ever-recognizable voice of Blueberry, "I DO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP, BUT YOU MUST NOT LET MY BROTHER'S BAD HABITS RUB OFF ON YOU. YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I AM STILL WILLING TO CRAFT A BREAKFAST FOR YOU AT THIS HOUR."

She tried not to dwell on the fact she was being scolded by a skeleton monster about sleeping in as she searched out paper towels to get rid of the foul substance from her hand. It did not take her long to spot a roll on the cabinet after which she took in what else was going on in the kitchen. Blueberry was in front of the stove where various pots and pans were strung about, some full of contents and others appearing as though they had not been touched in days. This surely was a house full of men with that type of stove top mess, trying not to wrinkle her nose she only saw the back of Blueberry as he was focusing on his cooking. She got the paper towels and pulled one free to wipe away the rancid mustard from her fingers. There was no telling how long it had been sitting on that railing. Rubbing off as much of it as she could she felt as though someone was watching her. She gasped after getting startled to seeing the white skull of Blueberry nearly right up against her as he was watching what she was doing intently. A stiffening in her form as she had not heard him even walk over there, figuring his soft boots must have been quieter than she guessed.

"HUMAN? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR HAND," he asked, a curious bounce to his question. The way he worded that made her fidget, trying to think of an excuse as her mind went straight to not needing to let him know what had happened last night. There was no way she wanted to be on Stretch's bad side after that experience even if it was partially his fault. - Honestly, should she not be a bit more upset at him?

"A-ah just uhm, mustard," she stuttered out to divert from the obvious bruises under the yellow gunk, "It was on the railing."

Wandering away from the nosy monster to find a trash bin, she threw away the paper towel and gave her hand a light sniff, the smell lingered as she would have to just wash her hands later. Blueberry he had returned to his cooking which sparked her own meddling, making her way over to him.

"I HAVE TOLD THAT OTHER ME MANY TIMES TO NOT LEAVE THAT STUFF EVERYWHERE, BUT HE IS WORSE THAN MY BROTHER. I AM SORRY YOU HAD TO WITNESS THE MESS FIRST HAND."

He wiggled his gloved finger at his last word towards her, even casting a wink at the pun he tried which went completely over her head.

"Yeah, I guess that makes my job a little harder," she said and peeked towards the skillet he was making a fried egg in, "With the crazy pay you guys are giving though, it seems worth it."

She still could not believe Sans had asked her to suggest her own pay amount. With all that happened so far, she should have made it stupidly high to compensate for what she may have to deal with. Shaking her head of that thinking she tried not to let that mentality take over, needing to still be a good person.

"DO NOT WORRY, HUMAN, FOR I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, WILL BE AIDING YOU IN YOUR WORK WHILE MY BROTHER AND I ARE HERE," he announced pridefully, posing with a spatula at hand. Oil flung across the kitchen to plop on the floor which did not really give her much trust in his words, yet the thought is what counted.

"You don't need to call me human all the time, you know. My name's Patricia," she smiled at her introduction, wandering her way around the kitchen to get a good view of things. Stopping briefly, she felt her stomach let out a rumble from her lack of food these recent days. The last thing she ate was some Chinese delivery she ordered during the moving which used some of her low funds. Not to mention, Blueberry tried to take it away from her demanding it was bad for her.

"A-AH, I APOLOGIZE, HU-- ER,  _ PATRICIA _ ," he stuttered out the words that were a little out of character from his confident boasting, nervous of using her name directly, but she could not see his face, "I HAVE ONLY MET ONE OTHER HUMAN, SO IT JUST A HABIT."

Making her way back to him, she wanted to offer help in cooking whatever he was working on but paused at what he said, raising an eyebrow to it. - That was impossible for him having only met her, or at least she thought with the monsters being on the surface for years, not to mention the screening process they must have gone through.

"What do you mean, haven't you been around humans for years? You'd see quite a few just in the city alone..."

This slip was not getting past her this time, already bothered by them referring to each other as their other selves sometimes. She needed to know what was going on in this house.

"he's sheltered, don't worry 'bout it," came a sudden deeper voice from beside her that startled her enough to immediately turn towards the source that had been standing next to her out of fucking nowhere. It was Sans... this was Sans, right? His outfit was changed as he was outfitted in a casual blue hoodie that reminded her of Stretch's but with a zipper. Black basketball shorts and fuzzy pink slippers made up the rest as she snorted slightly at the sight.

"AH, OTHER ME--" Blueberry began to say, but Sans let out a sudden clearing of his non-existent throat, "Sans... HAVE YOU FINALLY COME TO JOIN A BREAKFAST FOR ONCE?"

Blueberry looked uncomfortable using the name towards the other, that continued to bother her far too much, so she narrowed her eyes down at Sans, the monster still being a couple inches shorter than her after all.

"nah, just picking up the new maid since we got business and paperwork to do," he said and shrugged casually then reached over to grip at her arm gently as if he wanted to take her to talk as fast as soon as possible. She strained when he did so with that being her still sore arm, but he moved to lead her out of the kitchen until she yanked free from him. This sent a wave of chagrin over his smile and he stared at her expectantly, even Blueberry perked up from his cooking in uneasiness. Sans' observant sights had seen her bruised hand long before she knew he was in the room, but he was not pressing it yet.

"For one, I'm starving, so I'd really like to get some sort of breakfast," she scolded, her heart pounding in her chest at her boldness, "... and for two, I need questions answered before you think I'm going to sign paperwork to work here," she shrank rapidly the more she spoke and whisper out, "S-sorry, I... me-mean, you're rushing quite a bit..."

Sans' grin had faltered and eye lights dimmed before he perked back up and without another word, he walked around her towards the fridge, opening it at a casual pace. Now she got worried she pissed him off and he was choosing to ignore her so she began to fidget in her spot, Blueberry glancing ever so often their direction but kept quiet. Whatever he was cooking was very clearly burning.

"here, now you can eat and come with me," Sans stated while she was met with a glass bottle of what looked like a sort of coffee and a cup of yogurt. The soft tapping and scratching of his bones against the glass alerting her to the items, slowly reaching for them as she realized something odd; this was her favorite brand of frappuccino as well as her favored yogurt. Her most common breakfast before she was straining for cash, but that must be a coincidence, she hoped.

"HEY!! I WAS MAKING THE HUMAN BREAKFAST," Blueberry perked up finally from his cooking, "I EVEN TOOK PAP'S ADVICE TO TRY SOMETHING WITH EGGS. IT WAS GOING TO BE A SURPRISE BREAKFAST TACO!!"

He stormed over to eye Sans with a scolding stomp of his boot and she worried that the two of them would fight, but Sans just gave the shorter skeleton a casual chuckle in return.

"sorry, bud, maybe later 'cause i really gotta get through this paperwork with her," he said, waving off the shorter monster, but this only enraged Blueberry further to the point he stared up at Patricia pleadingly. She so wanted to take his side, but Sans was right, they really needed to get to business while she held the food items close to her chest.

"I'm sorry, Blueberry, but maybe I can help you make lunch to make up for it," she suggested quietly that caused Sans to look up at her with a  _ should not have said that _ look. It left her completely lost as she thought for sure that Blueberry was the cook of this place with how often he spent in the kitchen or mentioning food, but before another thought came from her she had a vibrating shorter skeleton bouncing in front of her with those stars dancing in his sockets.

"HUMAN HUMAN HUMAN!! THAT WOULD BE ALMOST AS FANTASTIC AS I AM! DO NOT BE LATE THEN, I WILL MAKE SURE THE KITCHEN IS WELL PREPARED FOR OUR COOKING LESSONS, MWEH HEH HEH!!"

Blueberry continued his laughter in excitement with such confidence she felt the rush hit her own chest, just being in this monster's presence made her want to run in circles. The fact he mentioned cooking lessons went completely over her head, but she and Sans were already being shoved out of the kitchen. Sans shuffled out before they were pushed through the swinging doors with a stern  _ mweh heh _ from Blueberry since he had a kitchen to prepare.

"heh, yer in for a ride," Sans chuckled out at her and started to walk away to leave her disconcerted, yet carrying the food items tighter in her hands to keep them from being dropped. She jogged to catch up with him as they were heading downstairs now, most of the stroll quiet that gave her time to shake the bottle of frappuccino and pop it open. - Thank the heavens for this delicious liquid.

"What's so bad about wanting to help Blueberry with cooking?"

She broke the silence between sips of her cold drink. Awaiting his response, her eyes darted around at the hallway they headed down that seemed much longer than when Blueberry carried her down this way.

"you'll find out later if he's anything like paps used to be," was all he said before they reached the broken down doors of the lab, which had not been fixed yet, but the lights were on and it appeared the place was already actively in use; or that it was just never shut down for the night.

"So uh, I have a lot of questions," she established and he motioned her towards that familiar white couch. Sitting on the far side of it, she set her drink on the small table beside it and opened up the yogurt that she was so glad had a tiny plastic spoon attached to it; one of those fancy yogurts that had little crumbs of food that dumped on top of it.

"yeah, we'll get to that, but first, you need to sign a few things," he hummed as if on autopilot now and walked over to a nearby table to pick up a clipboard with several papers attached to it and a pen in his other hand, "no need to read all this now, i'll 'splain most of it."

With that, he handed the clipboard towards her in the middle of a bite of her yogurt. She set aside the food to take it from him as she gazed over the first page, it looked like a typical work form, but far more detailed. This was going to take hours to read and so she flipped through it. The clipboard was completely stuffed with dozens of pages.

"Why is this so long? Isn't this just a simple maid job?"

She spilled out her first questions without thinking through her words, feeling the couch shift when she saw Sans sitting beside her out of the corner of her eye. He was not too close, but she did not seem to notice it was closer than last time they sat there and she continued to try to skim through at least the first page. Guess he was far better at reading body language than the others because he was able to shift closer to her without her getting anxious.

"lots of legal things having ya work with monsters," he said while being intentionally vague and reached to take the clipboard from her. Surprisingly, she let him take it even though she huffed at him after wanting to read more, but really the obligation of doing so was so tiring just to think about; she hated going through paperwork. He skillfully flipped through the pages and pulled back some to reveal a page to her. Soon, he poked at it and handed it back while mentioning, "just sign here and initials here."

"Don't I need to... read it first," she enquired, although held the pen towards the blank space just below an agreement statement. Sure, it would be nice to avoid all the paperwork and just get to sign everything, but this made her uneasy. Sans was unphased by her question while he only shrugged, settling back on the couch.

"as i said, the first part is just legal stuff regarding your employment to a monster," he interpreted to her, "they gotta make sure ya ain't here against your will or being manipulated by magic."

His fingers wiggled at the word  _ magic _ that she wanted to snort at, but found herself staring at the signing spot, chewing her lip. She wondered if magic really could manipulate minds, but after some thought, she scoffed that notion away to being paranoia like what the anti-monster groups often tried to spew. She would know if she was being mind controlled for sure and so she let out a sigh to nod in agreement, finding herself signing the document. Once she did, Sans took it from her to flip through more of the pages, reading it over himself and his sockets narrowing so often that left her wondering where his glasses were or if even needed them for reading.

"a'right, next section is the lease for you living here."

He handed the clipboard back with some more pages flipped to reveal another signing page and tapped at an empty space to which she knew what to do already. This was something she was a bit more familiar with as she hesitated to read a little above where she was signing. The wording was just a typical lease by the look of it though, nothing out of place.

"I noticed furniture already in the room, so do I need to agree on anything for that and what about a deposit or any of that," she probed with a tap of the pen on her lips, "Sorry, I'm not too familiar with this live-in maid situation."

A flush of embarrassment swam on her cheeks, not noticing his ogling at her especially when the pen bounced on her mouth since she was distracted by not feeling like much of an adult in her admission.

"don't worry 'bout that, no payments or deposits, and if you’re really worried 'bout that then it will just be taken from your paycheck."

He brushed off her questions with ease to calm her mind, letting her continue to tap the end of the pen to her lips as she wanted to think of what else she needed to ask him. The tension between them began to dissipate the longer they sat there.

"I feel bad for asking this," she gulped between her words, "... but can I maybe get a bit more privacy if I'm to live here, at least in that room," her request came out softly, feeling wrong to be asking that and so she hastily added, "J-just, at least, not having a monst--  _ someone _ wake me up every morning."

To her mention, she saw Sans' smile drop and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his skull which made her think she may have accidentally upset him. Opening her mouth to say her sorries he shook his head and raised a hand to stop her, his smile coming back nervously.

"i'll do my best, lady, some of the monsters in this house ain't exactly used to humans," he spoke slowly, dancing around the topic carefully and he was not even looking at her now which sent red flags through her brain, not willing to let this slip by her.

"Blueberry told me he had only met me and one other human," she began that got his attention real fast, "How's that possible with you all being on the surface for a while now?"

Her anxiety eased in her growing annoyance to how he was avoiding answering things outright, yet the sudden tapping of his finger against where she should sign made her flinch from him. He remained firm though, but not looking at her now.

"i can't exactly tell ya everything. please, lady, trust me, you're safe here and i can up the pay if you need more," he said apprehensively to which she let out her own long sigh, every fiber of her being was telling her to just leave now, get out of there while she could, but she found herself signing the paper and handing it back to him. His face snapped up to her as if taken aback by her choice, but assuredly not put off.

"I just want the promise that if things get too... weird, for me here that I can leave," she put bluntly, letting him take the clipboard to continue the signing. His entire mood was lightened up as if he had just won the conversation that she just chalked up to him being happy she was going to actually take the job.

"easy 'nuff, need several more signs on the lease from ya."

His grin hitched higher with his voice while she groaned in dismay to more paperwork before them that went into just the lease alone, but with that, they got to work.

Her hand hurt by the time that they reached the last signature of the lease and final page of that clipboard. A relaxed breath escaped her and she sunk into the couch, twisting her hand she had been writing with. The soft cracking of her wrist made her breathe out softly to the relief it brought, a sudden motion from beside her she almost did not notice until she glanced at Sans. Those eye lights of his were shrunk then came back in a snap as he coughed several times, turning his head from her leaving her feeling a bit strange from such a reaction. She shrugged it off though with ignorance, following his motions as he got up to pull up another clipboard.

"What," she groaned, slumping into the couch further, "There's more?"

She sighed, not hiding the childish whining or her thoughts on how much it sucked to be an adult. He was amused by her reaction, chuckling to tease at her apprehension to more paperwork and bringing the next stack over with him. - This one looked bigger than the last!

"just the actual job agreement," he stated, already flipping through the pages, "gotta tell ya what you’re even doing here."

He was going directly to the signatures and not letting her read any of the in-depth details. Normally this was a blessing, but what was really written on all those pages? By this point, she just wanted it to be over with and she was sure she could read it over later with her copy she would get after it was sent off.

"It would be nice to know what I have to do here since all you've said is  _ maid work _ and that can range from just cleaning to actually taking care of the residents," she rambled slightly in her thoughts, already cringing at the thought of having to help bathe any of them like a caretaker. That image was overcome quickly with a blush that she tried to shake off, grumbling to her more indecent thoughts; these were skeleton monsters, not some sort of lust-driven monster men in an RPG game. At least, that was what she told herself, always having a twisted attraction to non-human men.

"heh, you could say a bit of everything," he noted, taking in her blushed face curiously, wondering what was going on in her head at that moment to have her so flustered. He enjoyed that expression on her making his smile sharper, but not questioning it so he handed off the clipboard to her to sign. She was on autopilot and barely realized she had not asked any further questions when he took the clipboard away from her to begin finding the next signature page.

"What do you mean by everything? Papyrus told me, just cleaning this entire house alone is too much for just me," she questioned, her hand on her chin to rub in thought. There was a shift beside her while she turned to seeing Sans staring at her a little more serious than normal, his eye lights vanishing which creeped her out. They returned just as fast as they had gone though.

"papyrus? do you mean stretch?"

His question was firm causing her to strain with a touch of fear, he awaited her answer though just as she forgot she should not be mentioning what happened last night to either Blueberry or Sans. Furrowing her eyebrows, she actually was not sure if she was supposed to be keeping this from Sans too, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"N... n-no not Stretch... Uhm, taller, more friendly, could hea--" she stopped herself before mentioning he could heal, "C-could help himself to anything on the top shelf! Him being so tall and all, hah."

Real smooth of her, but Sans' expression lit up enough for her to no longer feel the tension and he hummed under his breath.

"yeh, that's my bro, paps, but don't know how ya met him already," he trailed his thought and continued, "... but i hadn't spoken with him yet today," shifting uncomfortably, he did not hand the paperwork back to her just yet and sternly questioned, "whatcha tell him 'bout all this?"

"J-just that uhm I was the new maid and that I lived here now, but why is it such a secret from him? The other residents knew about me working here."

It was her turn to dispute things now even though she avoided looking at him. That was just what she wanted, getting between brothers... not.

"was gonna be a surprise for him. guess that's spoiled, heh," Sans came back with a chuckle and handed the papers back to her on a signature page, "he does all he can when he's home, but this place is a mess."

"Why did he say this place is too dangerous," she asked, noticing that Papyrus must be the one that tries to clean this place, but with the shape it was in she could see why he needed the help. Writing down her signature, she did not look up from the page and only felt the couch shift as Sans leaned back to relax. He let out a string of soft laughs to her query as if she had said a joke that she puffed her cheeks in response to and sent him a glare that she was being serious.

"with how unfamiliar some of the monsters can be here with humans he's 'fraid of them hurting one another," he explained and leaned over to take the papers back from her after she signed, "sometimes a monster can hurt ya without meaning to... vice versa."

She guessed that made sense, piecing together the way events had gone which would explain a lot of it. While they handed the papers back and forth she could not help but take in how his bones felt anytime they brushed by her hand, so unusual to experience touching living bones as she found herself staring at his hands too often. Really, she studied any part of him that was exposed.

"Never answered why the monsters here are unfamiliar with humans. You're just proving my clones theory even further," she quipped at him as if finding leverage to this cryptic monster, even a soft smile on her lips as he peered up at her from the papers. He arched a brow bone while she awaited his answer, a prideful pose in the way she sat now.

"toldja, some things are best left unsaid, but no clones here since i never saw the point with breeding and all," he shrugged off her prying, but now it was her turn to feel uncomfortable. Her face got hot at him so casually talking about reproduction while she did everything she could to tell her dirty part of her mind to not even start. Snapping her face away from him he took notice of this, his grin curling mischievously as he leaned a little towards her.

"Y-yeah, that makes sense, b-but still doesn't answer anything... but yeah," she muttered in stutters and the papers were placed back in her lap to cause her to startle. His fingers lingered on the exposed portion of her thighs, her dress riding up just enough before they innocently pulled away coming off as just an incidental brush. He let out a bellowing laughter at her reactions that only made her face redder, unsure what exactly he was laughing at.

"geesh, lady. you humans really are weird since the mere mention of something like sex getcha uncomfortable," he said mockingly that left her speechless. In all that they were talking about, she had forgotten the cultural differences between human and monsters. Sure, it had blurred over the years, but some things take far longer to get used to. Still, did he really have to tease her so, monsters far more casual about  _ those _ subjects. Enough time had passed since monsters came to the surface that even relations between the two species were heard here and there. Now she applied far more pressure in her signature out of venting her frustration.

"I am not having a discussion about reproduction from a walking skeleton. I'm a Biology teacher, for fuck sake, I know the birds and bees," she began to spout and then she paused, handing the paperwork back and she saw him beaming at her peculiarly, "I mean, I  **was** a Biology teacher, but I know vaguely about monsters, too."

"do ya now? that's unexpected, but a plus, so i won't have to explain some things you may have to deal with."

He relaxed at that notion, but what  _ things _ would he not have to explain now is what she was wondering. She knew only a bit about monsters, the basics even, but nothing specific and especially nothing dealing with skeletons from how rare they were. About the best she knew was that they were made of magic and anything all monsters had to deal with.

"What  _ things _ would you need me to know? I only know the basics of how a monster's body is formed, how they eat, and how they... reproduce," she coughed her last words, that blush coming back and she shook it off while telling herself she was an adult; talking about sex should not fluster her like some teenage girl. Sans only gave another chuckle at her inner conflicts, glancing over the pages she had signed.

"you may get a little sick in the next few days from so much magic around and there is some monster food in the kitchen, but we can also eat human food too as ya may know," he hummed at his explanation that made her wonder what sort that taco was, "however, lacking stomachs, skeletons don't really do whatcha humans do as we break it down into magic which takes a little out of us so we'd prefer monster food."

His detail was appreciated and he flicked a finger at her, his character taking on what she would find in a professor and his smile forming a smirk her direction. It was fascinating information to take in as her inner Anatomist was wiggling with delight, she wanted to know more. The worry about him saying she would get sick keeping her inquisitiveness at bay.

"Uh, do I need to, I don't know. Take a sick day?"

She was unsure how to really approach times she needed off since she was living in the same house she worked at now, was her job 24/7? Her body tensed in the awkward feeling she got, finding herself chewing on her lip to ease her nerves.

"i 'spose, just work when ya want to. if you're slacking, someone will let ya know," he answered her concerns and stood up, the paperwork already over before she knew it with all their conversation in between. Finishing up the last of her breakfast while he was gone she began to stand, but before could even fully get up he waved another damn clipboard her way.

"Even more? How much do we need to go through for just a simple job?"

She objected to having more to get through, sinking back into the couch once more. He laughed at her dismay, his attention subtly at the way her dress fluttered when she sat before she had smoothed it down and soon he moved to sit back down next to her, slightly closer than before as their legs almost touched. The clipboard sat on his lap that was much lighter than the last two.

"just one last thing and these are rules," he assured firmly as if this was the most serious part of the paperwork. With this, she snapped up, even leaning over curiously while he thumbed through a couple of pages.

"Rules? Like rules of the house?"

There was not a lot she expected from such a thing, but there were some rules of her own she wanted to lay out being the only apparent female so far in the home. That and most likely no more teleporting would be nice, her eyebrows furrowing at the thought causing her to rub her sore hand and even dipping her fingertips in the dented scars left behind. Sans itched to ask her about that, but he kept his mouth shut, not that he opened it regardless.

"more or less, don't needja stumbling into rooms you shouldn't be," he started and handed over the clipboard, it was already flipped to the signature page as she pouted, wanting to at least read this one.

"Rooms I don't need to be in? That's not suspicious at all," she joked in a soft giggle under her breath, "--gotta hide your cloning vats," continuing her sarcasm, she tried to get back to being serious, "What else?"

She began to sign without thinking deeper on this and Sans shrugged beside her as he kept a close eye on her signing, he was nervous about this one that surprisingly went unnoticed by her, but when she started to read a bit more of the page he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"gotta keep you safe, so any room with a small blue stop sign should not be entered," he indicated the notion with raising his hand up, "for your safety and beyond that we just got guidelines of what you'll be doing," he took a long breath between his annotation, stalling his thoughts to retain her attention, "see anything that needs cleaning then clean it. someone will often be cooking but you can make grub too. monster food usually has a little soul sticker on it so be aware of that and don't worry 'bout the bedrooms."

"What about laundry? Do monsters er..."

"sure, you can take care of that, but don't freak out from what ya might find. monsters can be dirtier than humans," he said with a wink towards her as if it was not a big deal to admit, the less than an innocent tone of it actually going over her head as while she was lost in trying to think of how monsters bodies worked in the regard of body cleanliness.

"Well, alright, I think that's all I really needed to ask."

After she got through that, she wanted to read these rules now, yet when she began to he already pulled the clipboard away and when she went to take it back he distracted her by plucking the pen from her fingers. All she could do was let out a whine at him that he seemed to ignore.

"you're set then," he hummed, slipping the pen into the metal clip, "only other thing i can say is to let me know if anything serious or strange happens, but you don't need to list out your entire day," pausing to focus on her more seriously he continued, "--but don't keep things from me. i'm your only boss here," he was firm that made her tense, darting her eyes away so he could not see the guilt on her face, but he noticed just in her doing that, his voice dipping deeper, demanding, "nothing has happened, right? it's barely been a day."

"I... I u-uhm, no-- no of course not," both her hands came up to wave off the concern, "Moving was t-taxing, but I went to bed right after!"

She laughed off the growing suspicion, completely forgetting about not getting to read the rules and standing up. Using her motions to cover her tremble of having just lied to her new boss, she stood up and could feel his stare at her as he got up as well. He walked right past her though to gather up the paperwork they filled out, seemingly unbothered by her blatant lying.

"a'right, but if i find out you're lying to me, lady," he trailed with a lingering threat to his tone that made her shoulders bristle, really hoping he was just being a stern boss, "don't. - but, besides that, i'll be down here in the lab most of the time. if i ain't here then just call me since my number is already on your phone."

"W-well uhm, okay," she looked lost as her tone shifted uneasily, "When-- well, what do I do now? I'm kind of surprised I can already live here with how legal things can be so when do I start working?"

"today, so do your job and maybe wear something more suited. i won't make ya wear a uniform tho," he turned towards her while holding the paperwork, his smirk sharpening, "unless you want to."

He gave a quick wink at the mention of a uniform to which her mind only went to those exaggerated outfits in an anime, her face surely red again to the concept and so she huffed at him in blame. The fluster made her forget he did not even answer all of her concerns, this distraction forgetfulness not looking good on her keeping aware.

"N-no, I'm fine. I'll get something better to wear a-and get to work," she spoke meekly, feeling odd she was saying such things. Being instructed to work by her skeleton monster boss is a lot to take in. Passing by her, he made sure to lightly thwap her shoulder with the clipboard that caused her to jump.

"good girl," he praised her that lit a blush on her cheeks and he continued after drinking in her reaction, "now i gotta get these sorted out so i'll be back later today," he hummed, heading his way towards the back of the Lab, raising his voice so he could still hear her, "don't leave the house without telling someone since i ain't paying ya if you ain't here."

She was about to curiously follow him, but the door he walked through in the back shut behind him and there was a small blue stop sign just above the knob. - Well, okay, the first off-limits room she had seen now.

Now, awkwardly standing in the vast lab, she wondered if she should be cleaning this place too, chunks of wood still by the broken down door. This place intimidated her as it was both messy and clean, objects strung about on the tables and strange machines whirling with life, but she recognized a few from basic science knowledge.

First, she needed to change her clothes as her current outfit was not really fit to be scrubbing floors in. That did not even cross her mind when she got dressed earlier, thinking about already going to start work today, not on the agenda. Taking this as her excuse to leave the Lab, she made her way out. Now greeted with the dimly lit hallway of the lower floor made her uneasy, this part of the mansion sure was creepy and she made her way towards where she thought the staircase laid. It looked familiar enough, but this hallway was stupidly long.

On her stroll, she paused to hear a wooshing sound from a nearby door. One of the rooms she passed by opened, someone exiting it with haste and slamming right into her. This caused her to gasp, barely catching herself and her hands finding a scaly texture, keeping the smaller figure from falling as well. A loud shriek came to her ears that she was sure was herself, but it was not. Whoever had bumped into her stumbled back and had made the noise. It sounded female while she scanned the... monster and raised her hands at such a startle thinking she may have hurt them by accident. A small reptile monster stood there, eyes wide behind some rounded glasses and currently staring up at her in surprise, her yellow skin reddened at her cheeks from the encounter. - Huh, this monster actually looked familiar, unlike others she had seen. - Regardless, they wore a comfortable lab coat which made her wonder if they worked with Sans.

"I'm s.. s-so sorry," the lizard squeaked out in a heavy stutter, her clawed hands rubbing together and held close to her chest. It made Patricia feel horrible while she lowered her hands as if to indicate she was okay, a nervous smile appearing on her face.

"No no, it's okay! I wasn't watching where I was going," she admitted in trying to ease this tension but failed, the awkward air only growing even thicker and she was stuck in the silence befalling them; that was not until she finally recognized the monster, mentioning just that, "Wait, are you, uh, the royal scientist, Alphys?"

"H.. huh-- huh? Why yes I am... er, you... you're the new maid, c-correct," the monster, that she assumed was Alphys, asked in an unsure tone. She knew she had remembered seeing this monster someplace, this made her smile brighter at actually knowing something.

"Oh sorry! Yeah, I am. I recognized you from your book," she responded hastily, hands raised as if opening an invisible book, "The one about basics of monster anatomy. I had to teach it to my class."

"Really," Alphys seemed surprised with the mention, but her attitude lit up greatly, "I am.. I uhm, I mean, I'm h-happy to see my book f-found use in the human school system," she beamed, even through the stutters it was obvious she was happier at this encounter now, "O-oh, uh, Sans had me do your uh-- your paperwork. I don't work here m-myself," the nervous look on her returning briefly, "If-- if you were uh... you were wondering how I knew you."

"Thank you for putting that together, we just finished all of that a bit ago," she explained, thumbing back down the hall towards the Lab. Alphys watched the motion and then glanced back up at her in an analyzing manner, adjusting her glasses even.

"O-oh, so-- so soon? I only just handed those off to him. Y... you must be a uhm, early r-riser," Alphys said with a smile as if she was attempting a form of a joke that Patricia smiled to none the less, but it did strike her as odd that Sans would get to the paperwork so soon.

"Mhm, he's handling sending it in now, I think," Patricia added with a rub of her sore wrist, both of her hands now throbbing a little. So much signing was going to make scrubbing the floors difficult later.

"It is... It's rare to see him work so fast," she said and took a breath, "I do uh, apologize t-t-that it will take so long to er... process-- uhm finish the documents. I hope you have a job-- uhm other occupation  in the meantime. Sans would p-probably be... be willing to help you out though," her explanation was long-winded with the stutters, "All the paperwork s-should be finalized in a month or two before er... before you can live and work here! Takes a bit longer with monster e-employers."

Alphys rubbed her chin after the big of a ramble. This left Patricia to take in the information that she nodded to at first but then held up at realizing what had been said. - She... was not legally allowed to live or work here yet?

"But I'm alre--"

The noise of a jingling tune erupted out, interrupting her as it was like an anime opener causing Alphys to startle and dart her claw into her pocket to pull out a heavily decorated pink phone. This made Patricia hold her tongue, allowing her to answer her phone first.

"H.. h-hello," Alphys began, the voice on the other side too muffled to be able to understand, but it was full of energy just by hearing the garbled sounds, "A-ah, Undyne! Yes, I was just uh, just leaving now," she was already starting to walk away while getting involved in her call, "I w-w-won't be late, I p-promise!!"

"Wait! I had a question," the maid called out to her that made her pause a moment to look incredibly nervous, the phone still up to the side of her head.

"I'm so s-sorry! I n-n-need to uh need to go! Just ask Sans," Alphys said carelessly and stumbled her way down the hallway, where she had to be apparently far more important.

Now, this left Patricia alone in the hallway once more, a glance towards the door that Alphys had exited from. It was shut right now and a blue stop sign hanging above a keypad to the side, a brief curious spark wondering what was going on in that room, but more important things needed to be taken care of.

Consideration of confronting Sans flashed in her mind about this and she assumed he was still in the Lab, so maybe she should go back. She had admitted to him in their first talk in the Lab she lived in a rinky-dink apartment, so perhaps he was illegally letting her stay here early to help her out-- or what if it was an error on his part that he did not realize; was she taking advantage of the situation by living here so soon? With that thought, she turned to head down the hallway away from the Lab at a slow pace. - She will talk to him later about this since it could not hurt to live in a cozy mansion for a bit.

Finally, she reached the staircase, her heart pounding with some conflict, she needed a distraction while she made her way up to the main floor. The smell of cooking now gone while she looked over towards the swinging doors. They were unmoving and her gaze went to the living room-- her heart thud out of her chest at who she saw in there. Carelessly, she ducked behind the staircase after seeing Red sitting on the couch, currently watching the large television she somehow never noticed until now; probably because it was one of those wall ones currently on some action movie, the volume far too loud. Her motions did not go unnoticed though, his toothy cracked higher making her wonder if he ever left the house.

"ey, bitch, get your sweet arse ovah here!"

Red snickered after his cat-calling yell her way, a hand patting the cushion beside him eagerly while he eyed her like a cat finding their mouse. At seeing her not budge his claws dug a little into the cushion, ripping the fabric, but she tried to consider ways to deal with this guy, figuring maybe ignoring him was the best option. Taking that into consideration, she huffed with a faked snooty stance and raised her face up and away from him, making her way around towards the stairs to begin walking up. She attempted to cold-shoulder him even with her heart pounding out of her chest in fear of what he may do.

"aww, don't fuckin' be like dat, sugar. i like 'em hard ta git, so you're only diggin' ya'self deepah," he purred out his words and let out a bellowing laughter, the way he did so making her entire body shudder, torn between a curious lust and panging fear. Her feet acted on a flight and she raced up the rest of the stairs. Red did not budge, only watching her scurry away and slam her bedroom door as soon as she got to it. His attention returned to the television after a raunchy readjustment of his shorts, satisfied in his teasing he gave her, enjoying it far too much. He actually did enjoy the chase, riling her up enough to get her running being more than enough for him at the moment.

Upstairs, this was not the best way to start off her first official day of work, pressing against her shut door as sweat beaded on her forehead, very surprised he had not followed her up there. Perhaps he was all bark and no bite which somehow eased her. Leaning down to click the door lock shut, she made her way towards the dresser to find something to change into. As much as she loved her dress, she knew it was a horrible idea to clean in it, not needing to go inadvertently teasing monsters or getting it dirty; those thoughts alone made her face heat lightly.

The interest in wanting to know if she actually could tease them prodded her mind, but there was no way she was going to try to find that out, besides, with how Red acted maybe that already answered it for her. As she got dressed she let her mind wander, trying to remember any sort of lessons she had on monsters. They were made of magic, that much she already knew, but she also knew most monsters  _ procreated _ via their souls and not exactly their bodies traditionally; but their souls were made of magic as were their bodies, so that means technically they did use their bodies in a way. As much as it flustered her, her inner Anatomist was craving to know more about how monster bodies worked and maybe she would get the chance to learn while living here, her first instinct was to possibly ask Papyrus whenever she saw him again since he was the easiest to communicate with so far. It helped he also knew quite a lot about mending her.

Yanking on her modest top and adjusting the casual, yet form-fitting pants, she felt ready. Part of her wondered if Sans had meant he could get her a real maid uniform, not the kinky kind as she knew actual outfits existed for this kind of work. It did feel slightly degrading, but maybe she should look into it so to not ruin her casual clothes. - Enough rambling to herself. - She tightened her sneakers to get ready for work, peeking out from her bedroom while being on the lookout for Red...

All clear! She stepped out into the hallway to find it eerily quiet, really expecting this place to be quite lively. When she was met with silence it creeped her out, wondering if she had already met everyone that lived in this giant place. Making her way back downstairs, Red's hungry stare fell upon her once more with him still relaxing on the couch that made her groan slightly. She had to learn to deal with him and it was better to get it out of the way now. He hummed at her, not saying anything while his noises were more like pleasant growls attempting to coax her towards him, his muddy sneakers propped up on the couch and mustard bottle at hand. Honestly, she would be lying if she did not find it flattering, yet her shyness kept that adventurous idea of tumbling with a monster at bay.

The kitchen surely was dirty, she will start there instead! - Curling her nose at him, she headed towards the swinging doors just as she saw Red squeezing a generous amount of mustard between partially open teeth. - Ah gross, but huh, they did open their mouths with only darkness between those sharp edges that she could see. - She just about gagged his way, not even wanting to question how that worked and he let out a sharp sound of amusement to her reaction, some of the mustard running down his jaw to further stain his red turtleneck.

She was not going to entertain him as she went into the kitchen, expecting to be greeted by Blueberry but she only got silence, no comfort in at least having him there. Not only that, but the kitchen appeared partially cleaned on, some pots and pans still scattered on the stove though while she made her way to view them. One was still warm and simmering as she left it be. The other was crusted over and so she took it to scrape out since it was time to do her job.

Not long into the cleaning, she heard the swinging doors shift, hoping maybe it was Blueberry or even Stretch showing up. With her yellow-gloved hands deep in dishwater, she only glanced over her shoulder to see who it was and her expression soured. Giving her best snobby huff, she snapped her face back to her work on the dishes.

"reallah gonna gives me da cold shouldah, bitch," Red spat at her which made her fume at his constant cussing, thinking, at first, it meant he was upset at her, but his tone was actually cheerful; as cheerful as a growling, deep-voice monster with razor sharp teeth could be anyhow. She continued to ignore him as she scrubbed on a plate, not even needing to see him she could feel him eyeing her up and down when she heard the fridge door open. She used the moment to sneak a gander at him putting away the mustard bottle. - Really, she never looked in the fridge at all besides glimpses. Nothing unusual from what she saw from there, except the condiments were far more than she would ever have stockpiled, but with the display of him chugging on mustard she could guess why.

Pulling away from the fridge, he caught sight of her staring at him to which she flushed in embarrassment at. A low laughter rumbled from him when she darted her sights back to the dishes. All she wanted to do was work in peace, but she could already hear those dirty sneakers heading her way, but it was not until she felt a puff of hot air against the back of her neck did she finally react. She just had to wear her hair up today, she scolded herself and spun around to be greeted eye to socket with Red.

"what's gotcha so fuckin' spooked, sugar," he purred at her, way too close for comfort so she had to lean back into the sink as far as she could, noting that without her heels he was roughly the same height as her, even a little taller. Her eyes darted away from him as she did everything she could to suppress the blush of her personal space being invaded, but his hands, at least, were placed in his parka jacket pockets. His breath and body smell, in general, was something else, the harsh mustard twang and what she could only describe as dirty socks. Her nose curled already from it.

"Right now," she muttered questioningly, "You," her best deadpan coming out after that direct insult, "Just trying to do my job here."

Needing out of this awkward situation, she slipped from between him and the sink which surprisingly he allowed with a turn of his body, his shoulders slumped some as though he had been straightening himself up when he stood so close to her; maybe he was trying to make himself taller when near others.

"dat's borin'. why nots have some fun, eh? wanna play hooky," he urged at her like some teenage boy wanting to skip class. She was, well, caught off guard by the suggestion, blinking at him and wanting to laugh, but only pulled her gloves free to set on the cabinet. There was still a smile on her lips she could not resist which made him think maybe she was considering it.

"I'm not going to  _ play hooky _ with you," she gestured mockingly that sunk his smile, "Besides, can't you just go out on your own if you're so bored. I have work to do."

With that, she moved over to grab a broom from the nearby corner. If he was not going to let her work at the sink then she would just sweep, narrowing her eyes to the dirt he was tracking with his shoes alone, the fact he either did not notice or care while he shrugged her way.

"if i fuckin' could, i would, dollface. ain't allowed ta leave 'specially since i gots my handsome mug all over da news," he nodded at his own words, one of his hands coming up to rub along his chin as if to emphasis calling himself handsome. She did not mean to laugh, but a little snicker escaped her lips and he did not like that while his smile lowered significantly and eyes dimmed. This caused her to tense up, forgetting for a moment that he was a dangerous monster, she should not be poking the beast.

"Y-yeah, uh, don't need those ladies swooning over you at those bars you wrecked," she indulged his pride some, "Mhm-- but really, this place is huge. There isn't something else you could be doing?"

She did her best to try to calm him down and divert from any sort of anger outburst, already seeing a bit of that at full last night. As she returned to her sweeping, he walked around her as she did so, following her-- circling some around her. Such a presence made her feel so uneasy like he was stalking some sort of prey.

"ya betcha pretty 'lil ass dey were swoonin'," he laughed with confidence in his words before his hand suddenly snatched the broom away from her. She gasped at the abrupt action, scared he might have done something more, yet when it became obvious he was just taking her broom to spook her she began to fume at him. However, she still found herself taking a step back while he wiggled the broomstick at her jokingly.

"Red, g-give that back. I really do need to be working," she scolded him, although her fear was hard to hide, not to mention, that was the first time she had used his name too. - Where were the others when she needed them? - To her surprise, he held the broom towards her, making her think that was far too easy when she reached out for it. The moment she thought that he tossed it before feigning a look of surprise.

"oops, reallah got swept up in dat, heh heh," he huffed before bursting into laughter at his own pun. She jumped when the broom landed on the floor in a clattering noise and he made his way over to her, reaching out with those dangerous, sharp-pointed fingers.

"D-don.. d-don't touch me!"

She let out squeaky breaths with her fear hitting too much of a peak, his hand stopped immediately as his eye lights went smaller, not expecting that one bit. Sure, he was scary, but he was not doing much more than toying around with her. That amused smile of his lowered immediately and he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. She was left with her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears, her own hands clutched to her chest while she cowered, not even sure why she reacted so severely to it; perhaps last night shook her more than she expected.

"whatevah, human, don't know what's got ya so fuckin' rattled, but i ain't even touched ya," he snarled at her with the cheerful tone faded from him, clearly insulted by the way she was acting. She should really calm down as she knew he was not trying to hurt her, just riling her up while the throb in her hand made her slightly less willing to have someone touch her. Finding herself looking down at her hand was a bad move-- he noticed. He advanced towards her, noticing the bruising and then the scars, nearly grabbing for her. A gasp escaped her as she saw his motion, snapping away from his reach. He surprisingly backed down, seemingly more aware of her body language than he let on, letting her make her way towards the swinging doors. - That was enough cleaning, for now, she needed fresh air. - Red did not pursue her right away and instead gave a slight sniff where she once stood, his face twisting before he kicked away the broom out of irritation. He knew far more than he let on especially with lingering magic clinging to her.

\--

Standing outside she took deep breaths of the morning air, the sun not too high yet while she gazed out at the front of the mansion. Papyrus' car was gone and she could see her bike laying down exactly where she had left it which sent some relief to her as she headed her way over to it. Maybe she should set it in a better place, so she reached to stand it up and roll it to a better spot, finally settling to just lean it against the side of the front steps. It was better than leaving it there halfway in the driveway to be possibly run over. While making sure it was standing stable, she glanced up to see Red staring at her from the top of the steps. Guess he did follow her after all.

"yous ain't 'spose ta be leavin', sweet cheeks. boss' orders," he said with a flat tone. Yeah, he was surely upset at her that gave her a pang of guilt when she walked away from the bike and set her hands behind her back. Maybe to lighten the mood she should tease him back since he seemed so fond of doing so to her.

"I'm not supposed to? Sans said I could leave whenever I wanted if I told someone," she hummed that made him jolt, sweat forming on his skull as she caught him in a lie. In her victory she smirked, kicking at the grass she stood on.

"y-ya, but i ain't givin' yous permission! if you leave i'll say ya didn't tells me," he growled at her, trying to gain some sort of leverage with a point of his finger her direction. That was a good one making her tense up now, not sure how much Sans trusted Red against her. - Guess that was a bust, too much of a risk with the first day of her work.

"Fine, I'm not leaving, but doesn't mean I can't walk around the yard."

To match her words, she made her way over towards the rounded fountain in the driveway up and hopefully out of earshot from Red. The thing appeared poorly kept, but still pretty to look at. They must have no gardeners or outdoor keepers to take care of these things as she wondered if she was supposed to be handling yard work too. She would know if Sans had let her read the entire dang work agreement.

Settling down on the edge of the fountain, she avoided some moss covered spots and peered up back towards the porch, Red strolling her way and taking his sweet time with his hands deep in his pockets. He looked very nervous as if he was not supposed to be outside to which she rolled her eyes to and crossed her legs to enjoy the breeze.

"i ain't trustin' yous not ta run off," he hissed at her which made her raise an eyebrow, unsure what he was even saying that for. She worked here and she was not obligated to stay at all times, but even more so, why did he care-- in fact, she was going to ask just that.

"Why do you care? You don't know me, nor are you my boss," she said a bit harsher than she intended. Those words gave a pang in her chest, reminding her of what Stretch had said to her, it was like seeing a mirror of her expression when she looked up at Red. His eye lights shrunk before he snapped his face away from her, obviously hurt or frustrated, she could not tell, but she would bet the former.

"i don't cares, fuck off," his words bit sharply and she could not see his face during them, figuring maybe he just hated her now, convinced that would make two of them now after not seeing Stretch at all since this morning, but Red was not done, "yous humans are jus' so fuckin' stupid sometimes. can't reallah trust yous not ta fuck up."

A bashful look only briefly showed on him as he scratched the back of his skull, but it was overshadowed by the way it felt far more like an insult. Her shoulders bristling, unable to hold back from snapping back to that.

"Humans fuck up, huh," she questioningly snorted, unable to believe she could do anything to qualify that, "What am I going to do? Go and get all my human friends or tell people there's a criminal her--"

She began to rant, but before she could finish that he was over to her in a snap making her squeak in surprise with nowhere to go from where she sat, now having him tower over her sitting form on the side of the fountain. His knees almost touched hers while she could hear the rumbling growl escaping him.

"yous best fuckin' not," he snapped with a pulse of his eyes, "dis ain't some joke, kiddo. you're lucky i can't just' tak--"

A snarl cut off his words, not finishing his statement as he leaned down to be more level faced with her. There was a barely restrained intention in his body language, his hot breath flowing across her face at how close he was now that got her to turn away from him, yet she told herself to remain calm and raised her hands up shakily towards him. His own stayed stuffed in his pockets out of his own self-control.

"C-calm down," she barely managed to breathe out that got him to ease back only slightly, "... if you'd let me finish you'd know I already told Sans I wasn't going to do something like that and besides, what is so important here that you'd react that way," the question rolled off her tongue and he pulled away from her fully to stand up straight, yet remaining in front of her, "I know your face is plastered on the news, but didn't you just yell at some dudes in a diner?"

"fuckin' good, ya slut," he hissed, still close enough for her to feel uncomfortable and having to keep her face turned to avoid having to look at his crotch, "yous would be in big shit if ya tattled. far as what's so damn important here, did he reallah not tells ya?"

He held a thoughtful look on him now, reaching up to pick at his teeth, not caring much at the position they stood, in fact, he rather liked it as he stared down at her with his smile much more mischievous. A slight temptation to grab her head and-- Despite that, she remained oblivious with realizing she could ask him about what was going on around here, the consideration new since she normally did not want to interact with him being so difficult to deal with. At least, if he did not gut her right there in the fountain, thoughts of the water turning red hit her mind before she shook it off.

"Tell me what? I swear if I was right and you are all clones then I'm going to have a word with him," she huffed but waited patiently and to her comment, he gave her a dumbfounded look until he slapped his hand over his face and began to laugh hard at her. This caused her to blink in agitation at how he was mocking her, her face reddening and arms crossed as he even took steps backward in beguilement, "Why are you laughing at me?! You guys look like shitty clones of each other!"

"oh, dollface, i din't knows ya were so stupid. figured he'd nab a human wit' smarts," Red continued to laugh at her which was not helping one bit with her wanting to smack that skull right off his shoulders and she even stood up as if to challenge his words, but he was not done, "i mean, fuck, clones are close, but we ain't dat."

He wiped away a red-tinted tear from his socket and straightened up to see her boiling in frustration at him, his smile cocking as he could not help but think of how adorable she was when she was mad. He wanted to rile her up in so many ways just to keep seeing that pretty face turn red for him, his favorite color.

"Then what the fuck are you," she threw her hands up at her beginning debate, "Blueberry told me that he and Stretch didn't live here. That and he had only met one other human besides me," her argument laid out to the point of even tapping a finger into her good palm, "How does that not scream cloning?"

With his laughter calmed down he stuffed his hands back into his jacket to give her a thoughtful stare, he would entertain her he guessed.

"aye, we don't lives here, butcha ain't de first or second human i evah met," one of his hands to the side as he held up fingers in indication, "bossman doesn't know dat i sneak out, tho, but where i'm from i did only meets one human."

"Okay, so you're just not from Mt. Ebott?"

This narrowed things down, allowing her to think more thoroughly about this that maybe there were monsters in other parts of the world that just traveled here. It seemed the most logical to her, but why they would be so similar to Sans was still a mystery. Red shrugged, not seeming to care about spilling some information and it was not every day he got to hold a woman's attention for so long without her screaming, not that he entirely disliked that concept.

"ya and no, not from  **dis** ebott."

His words were so normal as if he had not said something so outrageous, her brain telling her to stop and think rationally, there could have just been other mountains in the world named Ebott with monsters under it.

"So other Mt. Ebotts in the world? How did you get here then?"

She continued to throw questions at him and he raised a browbone at her, shaking his head to then place his hand between them with a finger raised.

"No no, fuckin' hell, like talkin' ta a child," he whispered partially to himself, "not dis world, dollface. look, i can't really 'splain de details since well, yous pry don't know nuttin' 'bout quantum mechanics."

"You're not an alien, are you," she asked with a completely dumbfounded expression before trying to shake it off, "Besides, I did study science, least if Macroscopic Anatomy and Physiology count, but still!"

She huffed at him, trying to take back some of her pride, but he shook his head, apparently not caring much about her declaration of education.

"i ain't from space, ya stupid whore, 'n dis has nothin' ta do wit' organisms," he hissed and then held up another hand to have both index fingers up, "fuckin' think of each as a reality where one is yous and one is me, hell dere's pry one of yous back where i'm from."

His beginning explanation was shot down before he could even continue when he heard her snicker at him, her hand coming up to her mouth to try to hide it, but it was too late. His sockets narrowed, not appreciating her mocking when he was actually trying to tell her what was going on.

"Yeah, and pigs can fly," she rolled her eyes, barely holding back a laugh, "You're trying to tell me you're from another reality?"

Now she let out her laugh, hugging her ribs with it being short and hard, not able to take this seriously the way he was explaining it, especially not with his vulgar speech. Trying to take in that monsters lived underground for hundreds of years was one thing, the magic was a whole other thing, but now he was trying to convince her that other realities exist. At her continued disbelief, he stuffed his hands back into his pockets and growled.

"fuck dis, i ain't wastin' my breath on yous," he spat with spite, clicking his jaw threateningly, "fuckin' bitch, not appreciating my damn help."

Sour grumbles escaped him that actually made her frown in guilt, if he was being serious she really looked like an asshole about now as she rolled her eyes and cleared her throat to get his attention back.

"Okay, let's say you're telling the truth," she said with a hissing breath, "How did you even get here and I swear if you say magic I'm going to punch you."

Just to put some back into her words she clenched her fist as it was raised at her side. He ignored her threat, not finding her scary one bit, but it was cute that she was trying especially as she faltered after he took steps back towards her. Her body flinched and she eyed him warily enough for her to lose her balance briefly, catching herself with a clench of her teeth.

"heh, doc would have my fuckin' head if i toldja," there was a new type of paranoia on him as he gave a look around, "yous lucky he has no damn cameras out here or i'd already be in deep shit," he pointed out, sweat drizzling down his skull a bit more excessively, "i ain't spillin' that shit, just in case, capiche?"

"'Doc'? Are you talking about Sans," she asked and got Red shaking his head at her.

"no, de doc is his old man. he handles da shit i ain't 'spose ta talk 'bouts," he explained, his nervous state only getting worse the further their conversation went in that direction so he shook his head to change the subject, "dontcha worry 'bouts it. right now, yous need a showah."

"W-what," she sputtered out before any other thoughts hit her mind, his comment so out of left field she was not sure how to respond to it, but now she was wondering if skipping a shower this morning was really that bad. Raising one of her arms she gave her wrist a sniff, not noticing anything off, slightly stunned by just how random it was so she stuttered out, "E-excuse me... me? I smell fine, thank you very much. Why would you even bri--"

All that hit her now was feeling his hard hand shoving her chest, falling backward right into the fountain. She grasped for anything she could in her fall as the air left her lungs, but there was no purchase even on the monster in front of her, too far from him while she hit the lukewarm water. - Red just shoved her into the fucking fountain!

"'cause yous reak of da flagpoles. deir magic clingin' ta yous like a bad stink, and i'm sick of smellin' it."

All of what he said was completely missed by her as water splashed over her form when her ass hit the bottom of the fountain, too shallow to fully break her fall. At least she had not hit her head, but now her entire body was soaked cept for her feet as she got a nice dunk into the disgusting unfiltered water. She was about to scream so many profanities at him once she spit out a good mouth full, but with a blink, he was gone; only his deep chuckle lingering before she was left there alone. She vibrated with anger by this point, letting out a scream in frustration the moment she had coughed up green tinted liquid and proceeded to smack her fist into the surface of the water which only resulted in water hitting her face. She let out far more noises of fury and continued to struggle to get out of the fountain.

  
  



	5. You are a Stranger

Steam fogged up the cyan-painted bathroom, the sound of hot water flowing over bare skin echoing in the small space. Despite the situation putting her here, it sure felt nice to get time to herself and she wanted nothing more than to scrub every inch for the next few hours.

_ How dare he. How  _ **_dare_ ** _ he!! _

Taking the loofah, she vented her anger by squishing the poor thing as the soapy water spilled from it. All she could imagine was recreating the action to that skeleton neck of his-- the one in question being Red, of course. He really had the gall to shove her into the fountain and she could not even find the bastard afterward. Oh, what she would have done if she had.

"I don't care how scary that edgy bastard is. I'm going to shove this sponge up his bony ass," she yelled to herself with this being the fourth time she scrubbed herself down, her skin reddened by the actions. Just thinking of how dirty that fountain water was made her skin crawl. - Sure, she was all about having a patient soul, but that was just degrading to push her in as she could have got an infection or even cracked her head on it! - Obviously unhappy with this situation, she ran her head under the hot water in an attempt to calm down. The heat stung at her skin, a shudder coming over her at the stimulation.

All this pent up stress was getting to her, wishing she could let out her frustrations in other ways, yet with how little privacy she got that would be near impossible. Speaking of lack of personal space, she heard noises outside the bathroom door more than once. Doing her best to ignore it, she took care of her hair once more and turned the water off. She opened the glass door to step out into the bathroom and wiggle her bare toes on the fluffy bath mat before she dried off, taking her time.

Something pressing occurred to her and so she froze, realizing she did not bring any clothes in there to change. Whining at this dilemma, she dreaded having to make the walk to her bedroom with just a towel on, but it had to be done. With a hard gulp, she made her way out with the towel around her held tighter than she ever had. Despite the paranoia prickling at her heels, she somehow made it to her bedroom without incident, which in this house, was a surprise. Part of her actually felt bitter that nothing happened. - Was she really starting to like the strange happenings in this house? Maybe she really was going crazy. - Grumbling at her inner demons, she waltzed over to the closet and slipped her towel off, just having to get dressed so she could get back to cleaning the kitchen in hopeful peace. That was unless she saw Red again, then she would beat him to death with a broom. Nodding at that conclusion, she smirked and continued towards the closet.

Suddenly, a nasal sigh alerted her and made her whole body pause since it came from just in front of her. Currently standing inside her closet holding a stack of her clean clothes was a surprised Stretch. - Of all the monsters to be bringing her clean clothes to her room it had to be him. - His fingers tightening at the fabric and then he let out a simple  _ heh _ to what he was getting an eye socket full of, unapologetically looking her up and down before locking his attention on her red face.

"i know we got on the wrong foot, but lil' early to  **bare it** to me, heh," he chuckled out, appearing unfazed by the fact he could see her completely nude. Not to mention, he just cracked a joke as if she purposely stripped in front of him. She screamed on the spot-- oh she screamed loud and wrapped her towel back around herself after a nervous fumble. He gave no immediate reaction, slumping into his hoodie after setting down the clothes and covering his eyes for her, "shh, i ain't looking. was just an  **ass-ident** ."

"Get out get out g-g-get out!!"

She pointed to the door with a shaky hand and he did as she instructed, walking perfectly fine even with his sockets covered lazily. The moment he exited, she darted over to slam the door on his back, even hitting him lightly which made him grunt, his hands dropping to his sides. After such an embarrassment, her face heated so much she could barely see right now. With a free hand, she clicked the door locked as fast as she could.

Stretch lingered on the other side before shuffling off, sighing to being thwarted again at being able to have a chat with her. At this point, he did not care enough to try to again at speaking to her about what happened last night.

This was just one bad thing after another and there was no way she was going to handle an entire third day full of crap like this. Maybe she should just lock herself in her room for the rest of today-- actually, that sounded like a good idea. Peeling herself away from the door, she started towards the closet, only a pause to hearing noises going on out in the hall. Yelling to be exact, but she was not going to entertain it especially since she was sure her scream did not go unheard. Right now she did not care.

\--Several hours later pass by.--

"bitch, how long yous gonna stay in dere?! tells me what weed breath did ta ya already!!"

Red was yelling through her door, still, even after being at it on and off for the past two hours. He sure was persistent. With that in mind, she tapped the volume of her laptop louder to drown it out. Sans might be upset at her for spending half the day hiding, but she felt like she deserved this alone time. Sitting at the desk in a simple tank top and booty shorts, she had got quite comfortable with her computer time.

"Go away, Red," she said with a sigh, finally responding to him, but all she got was him snarling and leaving a good claw mark on the door-- he was worse than a needy cat. She was not letting him in, especially since he was spouting about thinking Stretch had hurt her. - Granted, he did last night then saw her naked today; both happenings were not his fault, but, damn, it was hard not to be upset at him just for the coincidences. - A few minutes went by and she hoped that meant Red had given up. Resuming her video watching, she was unaware of a conversation happening down the hall outside her room...

Red glared daggers at Stretch who stood there, not caring too much about the angry monster in front of him beyond the sound he was making.

"some of us are nappin' so stop botherin' the human," Stretch stated with a yawn at the end of his comment, completely unaffected by Red stomping his way and standing straight to try to overshadow him. He was still a couple inches shorter than him, however. His eyes flashed crimson intense enough to leak smoke, the attempt of intimidation still not affecting the more apathetic skeleton.

"don't ya fuck wit' me, flagpole. she was drenched ins your fuckin' magic 'fore i dunked her ass in da fountain."

Red seethed in accusation, jabbing a finger at that orange hoodie, the action continues to be completely ignored with Stretch closing his eyes and not taking the situation even one bit serious.

"why do you care so much? got a crush on the little maid, heh," he asked that made Red's shoulders scrunch before he pulled back in a growl even lower than he ever had-- that had struck a nerve and Stretch was not even done, "didn't take you for that type of LOVE at first sig--"

"S-SCREW off! who da fuck would want a dirtah ass human?! get outta here wit' dat shit," Red snapped back at him, motioning towards Patricia's door down the hallway. - They were too far away for her to hear any of this. - He continued to boil in anger, unreadable if he was mad cause it was true or that he felt insulted.

"then why defend some human none of us know nor care about," Stretch said coldly that left Red blinking, the flare of his eyes dying down in realization or just how easily Stretch said that, "this ain't your world. not mine either, so stop acting as if anyone here -matters-..."

Stretch turned to walk away after that, his real feelings towards Patricia becoming apparent. This was not something Red entirely expected to hear.

"here i thoughts i had fuckin' problems," Red mumbled, but Stretch paid it no mind. The things he said though, they gave Red consideration and he peered down the hall towards Patricia's door. Stretch had a point... After a moment Red departed, heading downstairs as well.

\--A couple hours pass.--

A knocking alerted her from her sketching of a skeletal hand, claw tips at the ends of the phalanges still in progress as seeing them so much had inspired her. At the noise though, she shut her sketchbook to give a glance over her shoulder at her door. There was not a chance she was going to let any of the residents see her artwork.

"Y-yeah," she asked in a soft squeak, knowing it could not be Red since he never knocked; unless she considered scratching at the door as a knock. Just the thought of that reminding her of when he had scratched her arms on that first day, passively rubbing them even though they were gone. She shook her head to try to focus on who was at her door.

"can i come in, kiddo? heard you really got rattled after i left," Sans said through the door which sent a wave of relief through her. Well, in the sense that it was not Red or Stretch, anyhow.

"Mhm, come in," she answered softly and turned her chair to look at the door just as he made his way in. Sans was outfitted in his lab coat this time as he shuffled his way into the room to where she was seated cross-legged on the chair. Realizing that was pretty unprofessional, both in shorts and in front of her boss, a blush formed on her face and she lowered her legs to sit more dignified with a mutter, "Er, sorry, was relaxing."

"no worries, no need to un-relax," he smoothly said with a wink while she awkwardly rubbed the side of her face to glance away from him. This monster never failed to fluster her with his subtle actions alone that she chalked up to just his laid-back voice. The more reasonable side of her refusing to accept her twisted fascination with monsters.

"D.. d-did.. did you need something?"

The anxiety was obvious on her, knowing she may be in trouble for locking herself in a room all day and, speaking of that, she noticed he had opened her door without her unlocking it. She could have sworn it was locked with how it kept Red out, but she gave Sans the benefit of the doubt.

"making sure you're still alive is all and sorry ya had to spend the morning with red. more -friendly- company was busy," he apologized which surprised her, but his grin curled in a way that made her heart thump when he said  _ friendly _ , an implication she was not expecting before she waved a hand at him. Surely those subtle actions he kept swinging her way was just his nature.

"It's okay, I can handle myself, but I did nearly beat him with a broom," she said in a soft laughter to make it clear she was kidding. Sans responded in a shallow  _ heh _ , the awkward tension growing slightly in the room, so she asked, "D-did you get the paperwork sorted?"

"yeah, you're officially working here now," he closed one eye lazily and she nodded to him, yet that conversation she had with Alphys flashed in her head so she had to bring it up. However, he was not done talking while he cleared his throat, that nervous habit of his coming out again. "so tell me what all happened with red?"

"Er," she hesitated and shifted awkwardly in her chair as his mention of that distracted her, "J-just him messing with me while I was cleaning... I went out to get fresh air and he pushed me into the fountain. That was r-really all that happened."

The way she was nervous had him hardening his stare at her and she did her best to add detail to keep from having to explain everything Red had told her. It lingered in her mind though while she let the next statement slip out.

"So, alternate realities, huh?"

With that question, Sans lost his eye lights for a split second which gave her a chill while she focused away from him just so she would not have to see his face. - Maybe she should not have asked that. - Peering back over to Sans she saw his eye lights back at least, but he was uneasy.

"guessing red let it slip? unless you're much smarter than i took ya for," he inquired with a chuckle, casting her a wink to his insult at her intelligence that surprisingly broke the tension. She knew it was playful, but she pouted all the same to him in sensitivity.

"Smart enough to know that has to be bull," she whispered under her breath to only mutter the next words passive-aggressively, "But... That's not the only bull you're keeping from me."

Sans appeared oddly relieved and shrugged at managing to hear her complaints, yet he ignoring them.

"heh, don't worry 'bout it," he reassured her, "he say anything else?"

His tone as he questioned her was far too casual, yet it really felt far more serious than that. Now, it was her turn to look nervous while she did not make eye contact. Red was already going to be in trouble and, even if he deserved it, why did she feel the urge to cover for his bony ass? For some reason, she avoided mentioning the  _ Doc _ she learned about.

"N-no, besides saying I smelt like the others out of nowhere," she said in a long huff, still feeling strange about that as she really chalked it up to him just being an asshole. Sans raised a brow bone at her, stepping a little closer as he was almost inspecting her himself.

"well, you did, although it's worn off some now. i assume they teleported ya to get your stuff yesterday," he asked and she let out a breath she was not aware she held, hoping he could not tell what sort of magic was apparently lingering on her as he muttered to himself, "coulda swore you had papy's magic on ya, too."

"J-just teleporting! I met Papyrus when we got back. Was real hug-happy," she said in a squeak hastily, smiling to cover up her nervous state.

"heh, yeah, ain't my bro the coolest?" Sans lit up, his grin widening. This made her look at him for a moment before her own smile formed genuinely and she nodded at him in agreement. - Where had she heard that before?

"Yeah, he actually is," her smile persisted to those words, "I hope he isn't still concerned with me working here," she admitted that brought Sans back to a more thoughtful look and now she finally asked, "There's something important I need to ask though," she quietly added, nervous about bringing business up again. He waved a hand and shook his head though.

"hrm, whatcha need to ask," he inquired, but decided to add in, "and, nah, you don't need to worry 'bout paps. you'll see him 'round."

Sans rubbed his jaw along with a nod and before he could hear her reply, he shifted attention towards her door. His action causing a string of familiar curses ring out from the doorway as well as hasty footsteps. Red had been snooping in on them that left her staring past Sans, not even noticing that herself, but it left her with a long sigh at hearing the retreat.

"Is he going to keep bothering me? Er, but that's not the question..."

She groaned at how the edgy skeleton was always around every corner now. Sans shoved his hands into his pockets following a tired shrug, amused by the interactions.

"like i said, be patient with him and if he bothers ya too much then just tell him i'll fetch his bro to pick him up sooner rather than later."

That was certainly interesting information to use as leverage, she needed to remember it, but before Sans started to turn towards the door he remembered she had a question. He let out a long yawn, that mouth of his still never managing to open.

"A... a-are you aware that I can't really be living or working here yet? I ran into, uhm, Alphys and she said the paperwork won't even process for another month or more," she finally got to ask, watching his reaction close. It was, unexpected to say the least, he did not even so much as flinch.

"huh," he blinked, either really good at lying or actually did not notice, "guess that's an error on my part, must have overlooked it," his answer coming out genuine which made her feel slightly guilty now for doubting him, "since you're already here though i see no reason to try to fix it, just don't go telling people or filing taxes yet," a smooth wink with that made that information feel planned, but his relaxed nature made it impossible to tell. Picking up on her continued concern he decided to mention one more thing, "your pay will still come, so don't worry 'bout that."

"Well, alright," she chewed on her lip and figured she may as well get through more questions on her mind, "Hey, I know that I seem to be the only hired hand around here. Is there any reason behind that? Or do you just have invisible workers, cause this place is in pretty bad shape?"

With his back towards her, he shrugged once more, part of him feeling cocky that he had successfully got her off the subject of the paperwork. The higher smile he held was hidden from her sight.

"haven't gotten 'round to it, so you were the first to reply to any sorta job ad we sent out," he said with another yawn coming from him, "'sides, gives ya something to do."

Feeling like he covered all the bases he began to make his way towards the doorway, but this just left her even more dismayed at the work she had before her. Before she could complain, he was already out the door, seemingly lost in a tired daze after his mind was made up.

"Wait, Sans! At least hire a gardene--"

She bit down on her tongue to see an empty hallway. Either he moved fast or could teleport too. This caused her to sigh as there was no way she was handling housework and outdoor work. Slumping in defeat, she glanced around at the hallway again then retreated into her room. Perhaps she should actually do some work today even though food would also be nice with her stomach growling at her. It was well past lunch...

Why did she feel like she was forgetting something? Her brain suddenly screamed at her that she was supposed to cook with Blueberry at lunch!

SHIT! In a rush, she got to her closet and slipped on some sandals, her current outfit good enough to be cooking in. With that, she rushed out of the room, really hoping she was not about to run into a very sad little skeleton after missing lunch with him.

Upon reaching the main floor, she was surprised not to see him and so she peeked into the kitchen, even dark in there which was unusual. Flicking the light on made her aware she never finished cleaning with the sink full of soapy water and the broom laying on the floor. No one in there though, so she wandered into the living room where she saw Red napping with his growling snores. No way she was going to wake the beast and so she kept searching around instead.

Turning to head out of the living room, she was met with orange, surprising her into producing a silent scream in the startle. - She swore these monsters were going to give her a heart attack from jump scares alone, clenching her chest over dramatically.

"lookin' for someone," Stretch asked, appearing as though he was about to fall asleep where he stood, but all she could think of when she gazed up at him was the fact he had seen her naked, her face already red again. Through her fluster, she took a long breath in order to be able to talk to him straight.

"Where's B-blueberry?"

A meek breath left her, turning her face away from him as she avoided giving anymore context or even to think about earlier at all. He opened an eye socket at her and slowly shrugged, the cigarette at the side of his mouth dropping ashes on his hoodie in the motion. His hands buried further in his pockets hiding tension at the mention of his brother.

"had to help someone with somethin’... why?"

He shifted, keeping his eye socket trained on her and the answer he gave intentionally vague. His slumped position was making her tired just looking at him, her inexperience in reading body language not letting her see the off signs. The usual indifference he had was increased around her, he was intentionally keeping her at a metaphorical arm's length at this point.

"I promised I'd make lunch with him. I guess that's why he never came to get me," she wondered out loud. "Any idea when he might be home?"

She gazed back up at Stretch as he slumped further into his hoodie, closing both eyes once more.

"dunno," he answered in a hum, striking her as odd, but she was not going to fight it as he was absolutely no help. Figuring that she would just handle the situation when she saw Blueberry again, she turned to head back to the kitchen, leaving Stretch there in his sleepy state. He did not even budge after she was out of earshot, but speaking of sleeping monsters, Red had not woken up for once to her voice. She glanced back to the slumbering beast just to make sure before she entered the kitchen. Thankfully, he was still fast asleep and curled up on the couch tighter than normal. Concluding that she would beat him with a broom later, although her hands gripped on the said broom, she let her vision cut off with the swinging doors shutting and continued her work at cleaning.

\--Downstairs... somewhere...--

"close that portal already, gaster!"

The yelling was the familiar voice of Sans among alarm lights flashing around an area similar in fashion to the Lab, except for an enormous machine Settling on the other side. It was currently containing a tear in reality that shook in front of it, dancing with violent hues and patterns; smooth metals, tubes, and complex design made up its design, this device was clearly advanced.

"Compose yourself, Sans, proper precautions are in position with no opportunity of subversions, however, do  _ mind your skull _ ," came a fluid, analytical voice from a rangy figure at a desk console on the other side of the room from the machine. That type of enunciation heard before behind the gate intercom, a slight distorting static attached to it even in person. Just as those words were said, a hurled object made its way out of the tear, embedding itself mere inches from Sans. The loud shink of metal jamming into concrete ringing out and his back pressed towards the platform below where the figure stood calmly. The portal shuddered in a harsh mechanical screech before vanishing from sight as if changing the channel of a television, a new one replacing it shortly after that was nothing more than waves of energy flickering among several points jutting from the machine to connect each side like holding open a wound.

"i thought you had someone helping ya down here?"

Sans let out a shaky breath, a drop of sweat beading down his skull as he eyed an axe dug so far in the platform beside him he did not bother pulling it free; not to mention, the tool-turned-weapon was drenched in both fresh and dried blood. He pulled away from the crude object, uneasy from the sour-rot stench it put off, disposing of it would have to come later if he did not forget to.

"USSans4032 became impatient with remaining here until I could determine HT1104 as safe or not," the figure explained methodically, the fluorescent lights of the room returning to normal, "Apparently, that observation is not needed with the hostile welcome we received."

An elongated monster, Gaster as he was called earlier, was visible now and easily stood an impressive height as he positioned in front of a series of screens with lanky arms placed behind him in a practiced manner. The white of his skull was illuminated by a surveillance system overseeing the entire mansion, bedrooms, bathrooms, and even several outside-- every inch of the estate. He had broad shoulders, which went perfectly with the form-fitting lab coat he wore and slick pants accompanying professional work shoes to complimented his height further; a comfortable cream-colored turtleneck settled under his skeletal neck tying the look together. He was, yet another skeleton monster, but different from the rest so far with his skull the closest to a human's, except for the two cracks running through it; one starting from his right socket upward, the hole itself closed in an oblique crescent moon and the other crack from the left socket proceeding down his cheek to an unmoving smile. No teeth visible in a darkness making up his mouth which did not move at his speech.

"we don't need an unwelcome visitor this early on," Sans hissed with worry, "this thing has only been operational for less than a month now."

He made his way to stand near the control panels alongside the other, eyes flickering to viewing the screens as one showed Patricia working in the kitchen peacefully.

"Worrying over such trivial matters does not suit you," Gaster explained without hesitation, "I can handle myself if there is another aggressive encounter."

Keeping his hands behind his back, they curled at the fingers as noticeable holes within the palms became apparently, those same hands materialized in floating appendages all over the consoles made of a glowing purple magic; dozens of copies of them flicked and typed at various inputs. White rings settled in his sockets, shifting down to give only a brief second of attention at Sans and then back to the series of screens laid out in front of him.

"i 'spose," Sans brainstormed to himself, making his way around the consoles, "but might be better if i install an alarm system for whenever that happens again," he muttered partially to himself as he bent down to remove a panel and reveal wire work that he already began to dig through, "gives the upstairs a heads up."

"Sound observation," Gaster lifted his smile, though his words still sounded condescending, "Yet, I must interrupt at seeing your focus split," he indicated towards one of the screens, specifically at Patricia cleaning dishes, "I am still astounded by your interest in testing a human soul presence in such an environment," he peered at the handle of the axe in the platform below them, "Always took you for a more  **caring type** towards humanity."

"you know i do care or frisk would have my skull. just, we needed a control subject for those that decide to stick around here-- tch," Sans flinched to touching one of the wires wrong after his statement. With a grunt, he dug himself further under the console to resume his work.

"Your choice wa _ s-s-s _ ... questionable," Gaster pointed out in a strange static to his disapproval, "The specimen is defective and unpredictable so you weigh so much liability on the fact she has such an unadulterated patient trait without consideration it can reshape," one of his hands raised to flicker to blue and yellow in tone, "It has already attempted to alter since her time here, to justice of all things, but it appears to have stabilized back."

Gaster watched his hand hover towards the monitor observing the kitchen, a squeaky curse coming from the woman on the screen after she dropped a dish too hard in the sink.

"i'm aware, but other patient souls i found weren't as... uh, expendable," Sans said under his breath from below the mess of wires, his shoulders scrunching to his own words and sockets dimmed in slight regret.

"How  **cold** of you, Sans. Maybe you really are my son," Gaster crooned, his smile twisting with delight, but his attention never moving from the screens while he detected Blueberry heading towards the kitchen, the small monster expressing rushed agitation.

"what can i say, i don't  **feel the temperature** being made of  **bone** and all," Sans jokes from his position, yet another grunt came shortly after from him touching a live wire; working down there while the machine was on was not most sound.

"We are comprised of magic. Do not be a...  **bonehead** , hehe _ s-s-s _ ," Gaster said into a half-effort laugh to his retort, but it sounded more static than any normal laughter. Regardless, Sans laughed in return, pulling himself out from under the console, he was used to the distorted sounds the other produced at times.

"i'll go get the parts for the alarm system," Sans pat down his pants and straightened his coat then brought his attention towards the swirls of energy within the machine, "any response from the next world?"

"No response, yet, as it is not a repeat so it will take a day or two to form a link and get a reading. Unlikely that we will have a vi _ s-s-s _ itor once it is open," Gaster responded with a monotone flow, his sights darting over towards the living room screen where Red was curled up on the couch shaking on and off in his sleep enough to have Gaster comment, "We may need to send UFSans3205 back to UF3205 if his interactions with your  **control subject** exceed friendly as he is behaving territorially even outside of a heat."

"what's the fun in a  _ control subject _ if we don't test the  **limits** ?"

With that, Sans signaled an affirmation and vanished from sight leaving Gaster to grumble in disgust, not making any motion to watch him leave with his eyes trained on the motions in the kitchen.

\--In the kitchen.--

"HUMAN HUMAN HUMAN!!"

Blueberry's sudden entrance made her drop a pan into the dishwater, the liquid splashing up on her to cause her a shiver at the sudden sensation. Since her gloved hands were still soaked she could only awkwardly glance over her shoulder at him entering the kitchen, but she grew worried at seeing him wear a completely devastated look on his face.

"Blueberry, are you okay," she asked in heavy concern, taking her gloves off hastily as he made his way over towards her while his expression only grew into more dismay so she quickly pried, "Hey now, what's wrong? You look like you're about to-- oof!"

She was met with a tackle by the smaller monster, the edge of the sink digging into her back, but that was the least of her problems as his arms tightened around her painfully. Despite it hurting slightly, there was a shake in his shoulders that kept her from complaining and so she raised her hands to pat his arms. He nuzzled his face into her then gazed up at her, those blue eyes of his wiggling that reminded her almost of a cartoon with exaggerated tears beginning to form.

"I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, APOLOGIZE THAT I MISSED OUR COOKING LESSON," he whined out at her as if he had done something far worse, "I WAS ON A VERY IMPORTANT MISSION THAT I COULD NOT IGNORE EVEN FOR A BEST FRIEND LIKE YOU. I AM SO TRULY SORRY," as soon as those words came out he switched moods at an idea, those stars coming back in his sockets, "I WILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU TENFOLD, MWEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Crack! Okay, something in her back popped for sure right then and she squirmed in his ever crushing hug.

"B-blueberry, it's really okay! I was in my room and thought I missed it myself. So we are even for that," she pleaded to him which caused him to finally realize he was holding her far too hard, releasing her from his grip to set his hands on his hips. Now, he eyed her up and down as if he caught her hand in the cookie jar and was about to scold her, the emotions on this monster switching faster than she could shake a fist at.

"YOU LAZED ABOUT AND WOULD HAVE MISSED OUR COOKING LESSON, HUMAN," he began, wiggling a finger her way and letting out a long sigh in consideration, "IN THAT CASE, MAYBE WE SHOULD TRAIN INSTEAD! WORK UP THAT APPETITE AS PUNISHMENT! COME, I HAVE YET TO GET MY TRAINING IN TODAY ANYHOW AND YOU LOOK AS THOUGH YOU COULD USE IT, MWEH HEH HEH!"

Blueberry reached for her hands before she could say anything about it, he obviously did not seem to consider her being in the middle of working. Once he had a firm grasp against her delayed squirm, he switched to only tugging one hand, thankfully her good one, and dragging her through the swinging doors. All she could do was stumble to keep up with him.

"W-wait! I have housework to do," she protested, nearly slamming into him whenever he stopped out of nowhere, a grumbling Red now blocking the way and eyeing the two of them intensely. - Was this the house of conflict or something? She could feel the tension already.

"wheres ya goin' wit' da human, pipsqueak," Red asked in a demanding hiss, his eyes wandering to Blueberry holding her hand tight which took her a moment to register how that may look, a blush hitting her face. She shook her head quickly at him, but his staring only evolved into a scrutinizing glare at her.

"TO TRAIN! WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US?"

Blueberry's eye lights brightened, bouncing on his heels as he stared up at Red expectantly. The edgier skeleton was taken aback by the request and then he began to burst out laughing.

"not ons your life, kid. not aftah last time," Red answered to quickly shoot down the idea that made Blueberry pout and Patricia narrow her eyes at him, but he jumped to defend himself, "hey i ain't bouts ta get my ass beat by munchkin here."

The admission surprised her coming from such a try-hard scary guy. Outright saying he could be beaten up by sweet, little Blueberry. It amused her far too much as she could use this as revenge, a sly smirk coming to her lips.

"Chicken," she said very simply that immediately caused a reaction in Red, his shoulders bristling and those crimson eyes of his flaring up as he snarled at her.

"whatcha call me, ya fuckin' bitch?! ya wanna go, whore? i'd give yas a nice  **rough** trainin' session!"

He snapped out quite literally with a click of his jaw and even rolled up one of his sleeves and clenched his fist all in one fast aggressive reaction. She really tried not to take what he said as dirty, but it was his fault with his wording. Doing all she could to prevent herself from blushing, she had not noticed him already taking fast steps towards them and thankfully getting body blocked by Blueberry.

"NO FIGHTING IN THE HOUSE! WE PROMISED WE WOULD TAKE IT OUTSIDE. THE OFFER STILL STANDS IF YOU WISH TO TRAIN WITH US THOUGH," Blueberry lectured and bravely stepped around Red, tugging Patricia along. Red watched them go, his sockets continuing to flare, but he did not follow just yet and instead stuffed his hands back into his parka with a defiant rumble in his chest. There was far more bark to him than any bite despite the impressively sharp teeth he had, but he was the least of her problems.

Blueberry brought her over to the strange spot she noticed the first time she arrived there, sizeable lines through the grass that was like a plow went through it and not only that, but the ground was burnt. One of the lines even lead up the side of the building sporting a charred damage along it causing her to wonder how she even missed that on her way in.

Pulling away from her, Blueberry took several paces and faced back towards her with a dramatic pose. It eased her to see him happier at least, but she was quite confused what sort of exercises they were going to do out here, her mind wandering to running laps with an afternoon jog sounding quite nice.

"ALRIGHT, HUMAN," his voice carried well outside, "SINCE YOU ARE NEW TO THIS WE WILL BEGIN WITH BASIC ATTACKS! DO NOT WORRY, I WILL GO EASY ON YOU, MWEH HEH HEH!"

Once he finished she glanced around timidly, but then it hit her what he said, absolute bewilderment coming over her at pondering what he meant by attacks. There was no time left to try to consider that while he extended a hand towards her, his smile broadening brightly with absolute excitement.

Soft shuttering sounds echoed in her ears and she swore the area grew darker, the atmosphere shift unsettling her and so she took a shaky step back. He flicked the hand towards her and she felt a tug in her chest, stopping any sort of escape. This new feeling was invasive like something grabbed at her entire being and forced her into feeling vulnerable; causing her to stumble forward and clutching her arms around herself with a shiver.

That brought about a sight that she would never forget.

A cyan glow lit her stunned face, eyes going wide to staring at a palm-sized floating heart out in front of her that escaped from her chest, of all places. The surreal moment so unusual that she just reached out for it. Her attention to the rest of the world completely gone with the soul manifestation mere inches from her fingertips, so close to being able to touch the smooth surface that swirled with the pure color. WHAM!

That was when she had all the wind slammed out of her in an instant, knocking her clean off her feet and her ass hitting the ground with such force she bounced onto her back. All that she could even muster was a pathetic squeak after she had felt something hard slam into her stomach, an unattractive gurgled gasp escaping from her out of utter shock. As fast as it had appeared, the heart vanished and the world brightened back up. In her dazed state, she could hear the thudding of boots and muffled noise of yelling heading her way. Her mind so numbed from such a blow that she did not notice fingertips hesitating to reach for her aching midsection before timidly pulling away. After getting her breath back she shifted up to a sitting position that hurt, but she managed to, trying to pull up her shirt to see the damage in a blossoming bruise forming on her abdomen.

"HUMAN?! WHY DID YOU NOT DODGE THE OBVIOUS ATTACK? I EVEN MADE IT AS SLOW AS I COULD FOR YOU," Blueberry chided right next to her, kneeling down to eye the nasty bruise and his expression starting off stern but softened into worry as he got a good look at her injury.

"W-what just happened?" That seemed like the only thing she could think of to ask in her clouded mind, her stomach throbbing enough for her to lay back down, the sensation to throw up was so pressing she even gave a dry heave and rolled over on to her side to curl up.

A sharp guffaw erupted from nearby, Red watching the whole scene and now in a wheezing laughing fit, bent over at his amusement. The sight of what just happened was too much for him to stay quiet during, a nagging bitterness in her to yell at him for suddenly not being so protective of her getting hurt.

"pffahhhaha, she's so fuckin' weak. holy shit, i can't believe yous really did dat," he bellowed out, unable to control his delight and she could not even look over at him in her  _ I'm done _ face so, instead, she watched Blueberry knelt down beside her, unsure what to do or if he should touch her. He was beginning to panic.

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY, RED," he held his skull and then hovered his hands over her, "I BROKE THE HUMAN!! I WAS BEING AS CAREFUL AS I POSSIBLY COULD, BUT SHE DID NOT EVEN TRY TO DODGE."

Blueberry tried to rectify the situation in blaming her which was hardly reaching her ears while she just thought it was silly how she was going every day in this house getting injured. Whimpering in the stinging pain, she rolled over to try to get up, but she could not, her legs feeling numb after a blow like that to her gut.

"oh, it's not funny, it's fuckin' hilarious," Red said in his continued relish of the situation and then made his way over to Blueberry still panicking over her, so he raised a hand towards her causing his digits to gain a glowing outline of red, "'nuff fun tho, let's takes her inside."

There was a tightening grip on her chest slightly like what Blueberry did, but far more intense, it made her squirm in discomfort, fear even, yet unlike anything she had ever felt until now. Blinking rapidly at the feeling, she could see an outline of blue on her before she realized what she did not feel was the ground. She squeaked in shock, causing her to wiggle violently as she was now floating, nearly smacking Blueberry beside her. The motion made her wince from the bruise on her stomach and familiar bony arms dipped under her to yank her away from the magic; the tightness in her chest fading.

"DO NOT USE MAGIC ON HER! AT LEAST CARRY HER PROPERLY," Blueberry said in a snapping demand to which Red did not like one bit, his eyes switching to just one burning vibrantly. The glow around her came back stronger, now giving her a sensation as if a sandbag just dropped on her and it became hard to breathe. The arms holding her shook along with the rattle of bones under pressure while she felt powerless, her voice lost in the crushing feeling.

"shut it, fuckin' midget. i can use all da fuckin' magic i wants ta on de bitch," Red snarled and then paused as if realized what he was doing. The magic died suddenly and he turned on a heel, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. Maybe he was getting too close to this human is what he told himself, grumbling as he stormed off ahead up the porch to leave a befuddled Patricia and Blueberry standing there. She began to get her motion back while she tried to squirm with a hand on his shoulder.

"B-blueberry, what... what happened," she attempted to ask, the arms under her easing considerably before he gazed down at her, a brief look as though he wanted to scold her for something, but it died fast. Now he appeared embarrassed.

"I hate to admit, but..." he grew an ashamed expression, " BUT I... may have hurt you, human," before he continued he tightened his hold on her, "I-IT WAS NOT MY INTENTION! I EXPECTED YOU TO BE ABLE TO DODGE SUCH A SLOW ATTACK, BUT YOU JUST S-STOOD THERE."

Turning on a heel, he began to head towards the house, every step he took made her flinch in pain at her gut throbbing. As much as she did not want to be carried around right now she let it happen regardless of if she could walk or not.

"Attack," she asked to herself in a whisper, "I t-thought we were just going to be doing exercises, but what was that heart, was that my soul and what hit me?"

Panic was beginning to set in while her brain finally caught up and he stopped his walk to suddenly get a dust of blue on his cheekbones to which he cleared his throat to make it vanish.

"HAVE YOU N-NEVER SEEN YOUR SOUL, HUMAN? THAT MAY EXPLAIN WHY YOU DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. I ENTERED A FIGHT WITH YOU TO SPAR, AND WHAT HIT YOU WAS ONE OF MY ATTACKS," Blueberry clarified, continuing his walk up the steps then when they got inside, Red was nowhere to be found.

"M-my soul," she pondered, but shook her head, "No... I never had. It looked like... well not real to be honest," a growing discomfort had her squirming in his arms, "P-put me down, please."

Blueberry hesitated, but he did as she told, still holding her shoulders he let her feet touch the ground. She buckled as soon as she was on her own strength to which he kept her steady. It was not too bad of a hit, but it was a pretty nasty bruise that knocked the wind out of her.

"DO NOT FRET, HUMAN, WE CAN GET YOU HEALED," he said with confidence covering his obvious blunder, "IT IS NOT TOO UNUSUAL TO GET INJURED DURING A SPAR."

The urge to be mad at him in this situation was strong, but as she gazed at his relatively innocent expression she took a deep breath to rely on her patience.

"C-can you heal me a little," she asked cautiously, unsure how socially accepted it was to be asking directly for healing, but that was the least he could do after such a misunderstanding while they made their way over to the couch. Easing down to sit with his help, she finally lounged back with a pained breath to her throbbing abdomen, not even having to look up at him she felt his discomfort at her question.

"I am afraid I cannot, human," he whispered, almost ashamed at admitting something he could not do, but he perked back up fast, "BUT I CAN GET MY BROTHER OR THE DOCTOR!"

A puff of his chest had him already running off before she could say anything, so she did not even bother to move and instead closed her eyes to attempt to relax. Well, it was less painful than her hand breaking for sure, two injuries in less than two days; that was a new record. A shift on the couch next to her caused her to frown already, noticing she was not alone.

"da lil' shit gone," Red asked on his sudden appearance, the jolt of surprise she got making her wince in pain, but not needing to open her eyes to know it was him.

"Not now, Red," she hissed her breath through gritted teeth before finally glaring over at him while his smile lowered and he tried to get a look at her stomach curiously, "What do you want? More so, why did you even let that happen?"

His eyes darted up to her face and he snickered, barely holding back a laugh at her dismay. It was hard to tell if he actually enjoyed her discomfort or he was just covering up his concern with humor.

"'cause it was funny as shit, but i can't believe he reallah did dat," boldly, he reached to pull up her shirt, "he shoulda known some humans ain't so keen ons combat," he managed to get a good look at the blossoming purples and blues, after she allowed him to do so, "den agains he's a bit different."

"You're an asshole for not helping, so go away already or stop pretending you care," she bluntly stated to him, not holding back her words. - Yeah, her anxiety was yelling at her, but she was slowly not caring anymore. - His eye lights shrunk and he pulled away from her with obvious hurt on his grimace.

"looks here, ya fuckin' meatbag, i don't cares," he threw right back at her with a whole new deep tone, "ya been here fah two days, okay," the way he stumbled on his words made him sound unsure, but he finally just burst out at her, "so, stops a-actin' like... actin' like...  **y o u m a t t e r** ."

The way he looked at her was sinister, dangerously conflicted with the eye lights gone and so her heart dropped. Snapping her face away from him, her lip quivered to hold back any sort of hurt she may have felt herself despite how right he was.

"Go away, p-please," she whispered in repeat to him, hoping he would heed it and that Blueberry would get back already, but Red did not budge.

A sudden sharp yank on her chin tore her from her thoughts, those dangerous fingers of his taking hold of her jaw, trapping her face between his claws barely pressing into her skin. Her own hands shot up to grip his jacket sleeve that caused her discomfort.

"Red?!"

"be lucky i don't justs rip dat pretty little soul outta yous," he snarled, dripping with such dark intent, "i'd maybe evens be able to kill that freak and return ta my world," his continued speech came with a sharp pull to force her to look at him, hot breath washing over her face as she got a good look at his teeth just barely parting, "others dat come through heres ain’t gonna be as gentle as me, so be fuckin' grateful."

His warning was very real and enough to strike a shiver in her, so he finally released her face with a shove that scraped one of his claws against her heated cheek, the stinging making her let out a squeaky breath. She reached up to her face to press her fingers against it, tears finally dropping down her cheeks from her blurry eyes. He searched her face briefly, a glimmer of regret in his actions, but he stood up swiftly and stalked off, hissing a string of curses to himself. Not even looking at him as he left, she was uncertain how to respond to that. Bitter... terrified... ... arous-- no, she told that side of her mind to shut up.

Now that she was alone, she curled closer to herself in a way to remove the vulnerable feeling she had now, thinking she should just quit at this rate or this job would be the death of her. Those  _ in the moment _ thoughts plaguing her until several minutes passed by, her shallow crying halting and the bleeding on her cheek nothing more than a smear of blood.

"HUMAN! I HAVE RETURNED WITH MY BROTHER, SURELY YOU DID NOT HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG. LAZY BONES WAS NAPPING AND WOULD NOT GET UP EVEN IN THIS URGENT SITUATION!"

Blueberry dragged a reluctant Stretch over towards her, the taller skeleton not seeming to care about what was going on, but he peered down at her. She did not react to his observation, still in slight disarray from Red's comments.

"gotta stop gettin' yourself beat up, gal," he said with a yawn and expressed his unwillingness, "dunno why i gotta play doctor."

With hands kept in his pockets, he watched her downcast emotion at refusing to respond to him, not even so much as a body language retort. She even mimicked his indifferent attitude with a shrug.

"PAPS!! THAT IS VERY RUDE OF YOU WHEN SHE IS INJURED, SO I DEMAND YOU MEND HER," Blueberry pressed in continued protests, even going as far as yanking Stretch's arm from his pocket and holding it towards her. After an awkward shake of an arm waved around in front of her, she finally shuffled to get up instead, attempting to gently push away the limp limb.

"I-It's okay, Blueberry," she muttered in an attempt to divert them from her, "It's just sore and I got the wind knocked outta me. I'll be fin--"

Stretch stopped her from standing by pulling his arm free and nudging Blueberry aside so that he could kneel down to her, his expression unchanging from the uncaring demeanor he held.

"shouldn't spar with him next time," Stretch whispered towards her and he reached to pull her shirt, but she grabbed his hand at the invasion of personal space. He did not seem to care, still able to pull it enough to expose the bruise and reach another hand to press against it. A glow of orange already erupting as she tensed at the beginning sting of the green trails of magic seeping into her skin.

"MWEH HEH HEH," Blueberry beamed, unaware of what Stretch had said to her, so he continued in a joyous tone, "THANK YOU, BROTHER. I WILL ATTEND TO THE KITCHEN TO PREPARE IT FOR DINNER WHILE YOU DO THAT. COOKING LESSONS MUST STILL BE DONE!"

As soon as he left to the kitchen, Stretch pulled away from her leaving the bruise only partially healed as just that bit of effort drained him at her aversion to being helped. His magic did not feel any less invasive this time around at having to force itself on her. Once she seemed situated enough, he stood up and away from her, the injury small enough to not need any more direct care. Taking his cigarette from his teeth to flick to the side he stared down at her during her silence.

"you're welcome, by the way," a sneer escaped his tone, attempting to get some sort of rise out of her, "next time learn to say no when doin’ somethin’ dangerous."

He turned to walk away without any more to say, her abdomen still throbbing, but she could at least still function and the first thing she did was stand up. Attempting to get his attention, she let out a soft  _ uhm _ that did cause him to stop, sagging his shoulders while he kept his back towards her. It was far too obvious that things between them were awkward, and she aimed to find out why.

"T-thank you," she started, he tilted his head in an indication to hearing it and she continued, "but... Did... I do something to upset you?"

Just saying that had her fidgeting nervously and her head feeling full of pressure as she dreaded any sort of response he may have, but it was finally time to resolve why he was aloof towards her since the other night. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he turned to make his way back towards her, stopping an uncomfortable distance right in front of her and taking a long inhale of his smoke.

"nah, gal," he calmly said, pulling back so that he could blow the smoke away from her, "just don't get the wrong idea here. we're not friends, may never be. just how things are... don't go worryin’ ‘bout it so much."

He was far too relaxed for what he just said. A shudder rolled through her with that not being one of the things she feared about, yet it hurt just as bad to hear. Clenching her jaw, she told herself to stop being sensitive, eyes itching to tear up, but she held back with a simple shake of her lower lip. His sockets shifted away from her, paying no mind to catching a glimpse the emotion on her face.

"Why did you care so much the first night then? You were... so worried, scared even," she questioned back to him that got him to react for only a split second, his shoulders scrunching to return to his relaxed state. Bringing that up was a slight tug at the very little amount he cared.

"just cause i don't care 'boutcha don't mean i wanna kill ya," he answered truthfully, "'sides, my bro would be upset if i didn't do somethin’," he admitted without any sort of hesitation and figured he may as well put a few more nails in the coffin, "bad 'nuff my bro got attached to you, but he'll get over it when we're done here."

That was enough, she did not want to hear more, tears finally falling from her eyes that made her feel so stupid even as she knew she was overreacting, but the emotion spilled out of her control. Stretch shifted uneasily like he wanted to care, but instead turned to walk off from her and she did not stop him this time, leaving her standing there with tears dripping down her face.

Why did she forget to tell herself these are strangers..?

\--

"HUMAN HUMAN HUMAN!! I HAVE STARTED THE POT AND GOT THE INGRE--" Blueberry began to say, pausing as he saw an empty living room. A look of confusion coming over his adorable face, wandering into the room to search around.

"HUMAN?"

But nobody came.   
  



	6. Celebration and Flames

The glow of dozens of screens illuminated Gaster's stoic face, his back straight and body near motionless, rarely ever pulling himself away from this spot. Nothing much of interest happened across the monitors until a camera shifted outside, soft oranges of the evening cast across the driveway. A hum vibrated at the back of his throat while he observed Patricia getting her bike while dressed in a scandalous dress no less. - Now, what is she up to, he pondered. 

Once she reached the gate, one of his hands flicked a switch to allow it to slide open for her. He had no interest in policing where she went after all. She hesitated at continuing and turned back towards the mansion to only shake her head in confliction. With a hasty pedal, she made her way out of the gate before it slid shut behind her, another camera flicking to watch her disappear down the road.

"Sans, as disinterested as I am in your cavorting of a human soul, I must advise an alteration in your... method _ s-s-s _ ," said Gaster in his hissing static, attention remaining at the immense console stretched before him. To his comment came an annoyed grunt from below the panels and so Sans pulled himself away from the mess of wires, his glasses falling against his nose hole. Scuffs of black dirtied both him and his lab attire from obvious prolonged work.

"whatcha on 'bout, gaster," he questioned flatly, "thought you didn't care," reaching for a device, he brought it back with him under the console, "'sides, i've diverted her from curiosities and given more than enough compensation."

"You are being lazy," Gaster stated bluntly that caused a sudden thud under the controls, a twisting smile present on his face to hearing the ever so slightly hisses of pain. He relished in the discomfort of others more than he would confess-- actually, he had no problem admitting it. A distorted chuckle escaping his void stretched smile.

"tch--," Sans rubbed at the soreness on his skull, "not heard that in a while, must be my birthday," he joked, but softened his tone when he asked, "but what does it have to do with patricia?"

"I observe  **everything** , remember?" 

Gaster was being intentionally vague and it made Sans' eye lights roll as he pressed fresh metal to connect a wire to the device in his hands, ignoring any sort of tightness of regret he held towards his  _ use _ of Patricia as a control subject.

"uh huh, most of which you don't  **divulge** ," he grumbled, showing his obvious distaste towards the observation. All he got in return at first was another hissing laughter escaping Gaster, the cocky bastard knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Indeed, you need to learn and knowing too much will distract you, so I only intervene when it is required," Gaster scolded, his attention flickering to the monitors once more as sounds of Blueberry yelling for the human was hard to ignore, the small monster making his way through multiple rooms in search. Gaster continued his conversation though with little sympathy, "Being  **your** control subject, she interacts with the ones willing to stick around and aid us. - A side project I see as fruitless. - But, nonetheless, they have made her feel unwelcome."

"it's been two days," Sans groaned, "you realize if tori didn't ask me to protect the next kid through i woulda dunked frisk the moment i saw 'em?" 

Sans' sockets grew dark in the dim light under the console to allow his left eye to flicker in a fast series of yellow and blue, the glow far bigger than his previous pricks of light. It lasted only a moment as an extra wire nearby encased in an outline of dark blue. It moved to press to the spot he was welding without using his hands, the white dots coming back while he concentrated on his work.

"Precisely," Gaster hummed with a melodic tone, "with this being your first trial run of a human soul interacting with them you have forgotten the most simple of memories."

The scenario of their conversation bounced in his head, he very much enjoyed toying with Sans' intelligence, but it did not take long for Sans to let out a long sigh in realization to that.

"don't tell me she's already dead," Sans grumbled, pulling himself from under the console to stare up at the surveillance, however, one of Gaster's detached hands waved at him to continue his work instead and he reluctantly obeyed.

"No, she is  _ relatively _ unharmed," Gaster said in a curl of his smile that Sans surprisingly did nothing more than a sigh to in response, so he continued, "You need not concern yourself with that. - Which reminds me," he brought his arms up to cross in his sudden off-topic thought, "-- how fascinating USPapyrus4032 is since he can utilize five forms of magic even with his emotional indifference hindering his potential. Such a shame, as if it were not for that I would employ his help permanently seeing as he could easily replace both you and Papyrus."

A murmur from under the console stopped him from continuing, "getting off topic again. what did they do to Y/-- the control subject?" 

Sans cleared his throat, an internal thought running through his head in a loop that Patricia was hired to be expendable and empathy was dangerous in what he was doing.

"Yes, the  **control subject** , do not falter now. She has been scared off an--"

"what?! ack--" 

Sans tried to stand suddenly causing another thud to erupt from under the console followed shortly by cursing in a garbled language as he rubbed his skull where it hit the metal above him.

"Because of this exact reaction I keep information from you," Gaster sternly scolded that prevented Sans from any other retaliation, "She is already gone, so cease your overreaction. Her items are still present so she will not be gone for good."

"you going to continue being cryptic or are ya going to tell me what i  **have** to fix," Sans asked in a hiss, pulling from his work stubbornly to walk over to the screens next to Gaster, his skull still throbbing. Letting his attention bounce between the monitors, he landed his sight on seeing the three other monsters of the home all seated in the living room, which was a surprise to have them all in the same place. The reason became apparent as Red and Blueberry were in a heated argument and Stretch fast asleep ignoring their ranting. It did not take long for Red to storm off, which was something observed to be his nervous habit, and Patricia was certainly nowhere to be found.

"Only this once I will present you the facts since your apathetic ignorance is becoming agitating," Gaster began as, for the first time, he turned to face Sans. Those long arms of his motioning out in front of himself while he spoke, "After a misunderstanding of the concepts of sparring with USSans4032 your control subject was left alone with UFSans3205 and he took this time to  _ express _ himself aggressively, possibly due to USPapyrus4032 explaining to him how pointless our world is to them. - I must  **speak** to USPapyrus4032 later on this.  **Noted.** "

"uh huh, how's that anything new? he  _ aggressively expresses _ himself to everyone," Sans responded, removing the glasses from his face to rub at his sockets, the dark coloration at them showing signs of his recent overworking habits; part of him missed his laid back job at the monster school as a professor.

"Except, UFSans3205 favors her due to their similar social ineptitude so in his attempt to show concern backfiring he only disrupted her mental stability further," Gaster continued his long explanation of what he observed. Sans appeared as if he was about to say something, but a purple hand came up to signal that Gaster was not done, "USPapyrus4032 went behind both UFSans3205 and USSans4032 to make the control subject aware of her irrelevance. Regardless of how accurate he was, it only further corrupted her sanity."

" _ corrupted her sanity _ ? i hardly imagine it was  **that** serious with her only being around them for a couple days now," Sans jumped in to point out, but he received a long sigh from Gaster in displeasure.

"Regardless of how emotionally sensitive  **your** control subject is, it was enough for her soul to dim, thus it  **should** be obvious what needs to be done," he said where he went to being cryptic again with punctuating keywords and those white rings of his boring down at Sans. The shorter monster got lost in thought though and ignored the calculating stare.

"fire her and find a new, stronger soul," Sans asked bluntly, a slight lift on his chest at the idea which would be the morally sound option, but that would require a lot of effort since he had already gone through all that paperwork. The effort spent on this maid already wore on him and pulled him from his work.

"Normally, yes, but knowing what she does I would rather not risk retaliation whether she believes it or not," Gaster started that caused Sans to tense at the implication, but had a hand waved at him, "I do not care for the defense of humans holding high morals nor can you ask what exactly she knows. So, are you going to let me give you the solution?"

There was a long moment of silence and Sans nodded, "yeah, sure, but i ain't killing her," his words left an air of scrutiny before Gaster turned away from him to resume his work at the console and so Sans spoke again, "go on already."

"How hypocritical after your expendable  _ s-s-s _ tatements, but I will continue," Gaster huffed, straightening his jacket as he got ready for his detailed explanation, "Both UFSans3205 and USPapyrus4032 have shown defensive behavior akin to your old ways, pushing the human away emotionally, but then USSans4032 has done the opposite. He smothers your control subject much like Papyrus used to towards every human upon our first arrival to the surface. Those were... trouble _ s-s-s _ ome times."

The conversation was already exhausting Sans, but he occupied himself by watching the monitors. Much to his surprise, there was moderate bickering going on between Stretch and Blueberry of all people with Red not present, so he searched the surveillance until he spotted him.

"you're getting carried away with non-specifics, just tell me the solution," Sans grumbled impatiently, his eyes flickering at one of the screens. Just outside of a door in a long hallway was Red with his skull pressed against the surface. Sans rolled his eyes at the sight, walking his way over towards a similar door in the room they were in. 

Gaster did not react to the movement and, instead, continued his discussion, "If you do not wish to terminate her stay here then offer her a middle ground since she is receiving too much of two different extremes; or rectify the ones creating the complication," he raised a finger that promptly fell down on a button to control the nearby exit, "Ah, the opportunity presents itself already."

The room's door slid open instantly, Sans giving a tired expression towards a very surprised Red. Immediately, the edgier skeleton shoved his hands into his jacket and began to hiss through his teeth in an attempt at a whistle. He was trying to pretend he was only passing by.

Sans was about to say something, but Gaster instead took the initiative and said, "UFSans3205, if you are going to snoop, at least provide input since you supposedly hold  **some** intelligence and have seen his control subject first hand. I already grow tired of this distractingly pointless dilemma." 

The request surprised both shorter monsters and Sans backed down, making his way towards the open panel to resume his work with a grumble.

"control what? da fuck ya askin' me fah, i don't gives a shit 'bout de bitch," Red stated quite harshly, remaining in the doorway, uncomfortable with this room. Those red eyes of his narrowed towards Gaster's back in a paranoid manner, blindingly obvious that he was afraid of this monster.

"may as well not bother asking him, gaster. he hasn't even helped us stabilize the machine," Sans piped up before disappearing again through the open panel he knelt near. That made Red snarl his direction at the insult, but before he could give a response there was a snap of one of those floating hands for Red to retain attention at Gaster.

"As usele _ ss-s-s _ as he has been in aiding our research, he has also been the one observing your control subject the closest," Gaster hummed in a way that almost sounded like praise, yet it still made Red vibrate in anger to literally being talked around. Enough confidence coming through to allow him to step further into the room.

"i'm rights here, ya freak. i've been plenty useful yous know, just, i never get anythin' ta do," Red groaned, wandering over to try to peek at what Sans was working on, curious and bored of being denied work on this machine directly, "who cares 'bout da whore, don't even know where she is."

"Left the estate after her altercation with USPapyrus4032," Gaster answered truthfully and Red reacted instantly, stomping his way over towards the taller monster. He shoved him aside to stare up at the monitors, searching across all the screens. Surprisingly, the actions only resulted in a brief glare from Gaster before he straightened his coat.

"left, wheres? what did da weed breath do dis time," Red asked with a snap back to Gaster after not being able to find Patricia on the monitors. He was given a cold stare that made him shrink down and scoff loudly, hiding his fear of the look he got by pulling away from the console.

"Ahem-- if you are quite finished with your jealous outburst I will elaborate. USPapyrus4032 and yourself made it clear the control subject was unwelcome. Unless you suffer from the same detachment as him then you are aware of why she left," was the response Gaster gave to Red who got close to retaliating at it but instead nodded silently, smart enough to piece things together.

"can't get 'long with a human for two days. i can see why your world is still stuck in its loop," Sans added to the conversation, tossing a couple of loose wires over his shoulder.

"HEY!! fuck yous, my world is jus--"

"In disarray," Gaster cut Red off abruptly, "Being defensive is not proving anything but your inability to adapt. Now, give your input on the situation with his control subject or  **return upstairs** . Your assistance beyond that is  **not** needed at this time."

He received a growl in return, but it ceased at the glow of purple magic flashing in misshapen sockets.

"fuckin' freak," Red whispered that Gaster ignored to resume his work at the console, the portal nearby giving a shiver while one of the monitors began to fill with a garbled language. Not noticing or caring about it, Red finally responded, "look, i don't knows what da fuck ya want me ta say. i've only known de bitch fah a couple days, 'spect me ta just magically knows her overnight?"

Sans snorted from under the console with a roll of his eyes as if he said that himself not long ago, maybe he was more like his other selves than he thought. He was making his finishing touches to installing the new alarm system with a wave of his hand to the smoke of welding the wires.

"Sound idea, UFSans3205," Gaster began with a clasp of his hands together, "Follow the control subject and figure out how to prevent future mishaps. Now leav--" 

The metal panel nearby slammed shut to interrupt him, Sans narrowing his sockets at them while he stood. He did not look happy about this decision.

"whoa, i hired her and will take care of this," Sans said, slightly out of character, both other monsters staring at him for the moment so he cleared his throat immediately after. That regret building over his choice to involve an innocent human soul in this growing heavier, so he had to correct himself, "i ain't going to let  **him** mess it up even more."

"oi, fucker, yous don't give me shit ta do anyway," Red snapped his jaw with his words, not realizing he was inadvertently agreeing to it, but the action caused Sans to stare down his alternate self, the tension between them thick in the air.

"Sans, I need you here and in the lab, not playing house.  **Your** experiments or not," Gaster pointed out with a flick of one his hands without removing attention from his work, "You can try to aid with it in your free time by providing a middle ground, like we discussed, however, UFSans3205 stalks your control subject anyway."

"yeah! --w-wait, what?! i don't fuckin' stalks her! yous makin' me babysit da bitch?! how 'bout no, fuckin' freaks, both of yous." 

Catching up on what exactly was being suggested made Red cough out and turn on his heel, ready to storm out like he was fond of doing; in his mind, there was no way he was going to be the one stuck caring for Patricia especially since that was her job for them. There was a long silence from Sans in consideration, obvious he was against the reigns being taken from his project, but he weighed his options.

"ugh, fine, if it resolves this then we'll do that," Sans hung his skull in defeat and walked over to grab several speakers, placing them into a box that he hauled up, "i'm  **still** her boss tho'."

"Splendid, now we can cease discussing such trivial matters and get back to the  **real** work," Gaster said in a hum, excited at resolving the issue, but Red was being completely ignored causing him to glare between the two in disbelief over his shoulder. He gave his foot a stomp to try to get their attention, turning back towards them.

"yous fuckers jus' gonna ignore me?! i saids i ain't doin' your dirtah work!" 

The sneer in Red's voice carried through the room with a boom, his magic leaking through his eyes again in his rage that was not intimidating the other two even an inch.

"You will, UFSans3205, otherwise, you have no more use here. I will open the portal back to UF320--"

"WAIT," Red yelled out that stopped Gaster's consideration, "--f-fuckin' fine! but dis bettah be fuckin' worth it. dis place's still betters dan dere and yous said ya could fix da resets," he paused to lower his voice deeper than he ever had, a dangerous vibration coursing through his bones in putting every ounce of confidence he had to make this threat, "if i finds out you're lyin' den yous gonna be  **DUST** !"

Suddenly, Gaster turned towards him smoothly with a near liquid motion, the bottom of his lab coat slicking along the floor being the first time he ever left his console despite the hands continuing their work there. This made both Sans and Red freeze in surprise and he made his way directly to Red, leaning down face to face with him in a heavy motion. The white rings in his misshapen sockets boring into the shrinking red lights. Red was going through various curses in his skull, a drop of sweat sliding down the side.

"Of course,  **I did so** here and **I can do so** in other worlds, yet if you decide to  _ dust _ us instead, well, perhaps I will make sure your resets discontinue at the lowest point in your timelines," the threat of Gaster's words leaked out with such venom that Red had to step back, stopped short by several of those purple hands gripping his parka, keeping him firmly in place before the intimidating monster, "Might even restore the version of myself in your reality. At least he would provide a valuable assistance to us."

Reaching down, Gaster dragged his fingertips along Red's skull, the scrape of bone on bone apparent. Red swiped at the hand to only hit the empty air with Gaster's unfazed retreat. He released the smaller monster and snapped straight to make his way back to the consoles, leaving Red speechless of how to react. Sans ducked his head to rush out of the room with the box of speakers in his arms, not interfering with them knowing full well just how strong Gaster was.

"n-nasty freak," Red finally managed to spit out, the slightest motion of Gaster making him startle and dart out of the doorway himself. He managed to slam into the sliding door with a growled string of curses before finally making it out in his haste.

Gaster was left alone now, his smile curling higher in his victory. He let out static hums in a simple tune which flowed out into the room along with the tap of his work across the console. - Oh, how he enjoyed his work. - The portal nearby finally stabilized to show an incomplete glossed over image. Purple tile and faded teal walls were all that was visible beyond the cold stale air seeping from the tear.

"Let us see what we have here."

 

\--Meanwhile, elsewhere...--

 

"S-stupid fucking skeletons! Just, how do they even breathe," came the voice of Patricia followed closely with an exaggerated sigh. A giggle leaked from her painted lips while she slumped on the bar she sat at, shot glass in hand. She felt so soothingly warm, the alcohol in her system tinting her cheeks. That was not the only reason she felt so overheated, the air in the room was scorching and the atmosphere dimmed in an obvious alcohol-fueled environment.

Heat brushed her hand that caused her to straighten up so fast there was a light pop in her back, one of the straps of her dress she wore dropping in her intoxicated state and feeling it made her snicker to herself indecently. This was one hard night she had coming for a while, thinking she would finally indulge and find the closest bar then proceed to see how far her last cash could go.

"... 'Mam, we are closing early for the Celebrations. You are welcomed to continue your drinking there," a faint, yet deep male's voice said to her that crackled like a campfire which was the perfect description of him; the hand taking her empty glass was made completely of fire. She whimpered at him, wanting her glass back while having to blink a few times at his bright form. 

Outfitted in a casual suit with an apron placed over it was a fire elemental monster, the flames licking up his arms with his rolled-up sleeves and brilliant oranges to yellows making her squint when she stared at him. A near blank slate face gazed down at her showing an expression of concern. - Really, she could barely see it even without her vision so impaired. - A pair of rectangle glasses placed in the middle of his face being the only defining feature.

"C-celebrations? Hah, as if I'd go cause that's awkward as fuck to go alone," she laughed out the comment, speaking her mind quite bluntly. The fire elemental only sighed, setting the dirty glass off to the side and scanning the bar as the other patrons were already filtered out to go to the Ebott University Celebrations. - It had to be one of the few humans that ever came there to be keeping him behind, but he was being patient with her. At this rate, though, he would miss the festival, so he needed to act.

"... I can call you a cab unless you have someone who can pick you up," he said in a continued push for her to leave on her own, he already removed his apron to get ready to close up the bar. Even through her intoxication, she could get the hint, pouting while she dragged herself from the barstool. She winced at her bare thighs getting stuck to the leather in her dress before her heels clicked on to the wood floor.

"Not really, but... uh, no thanks. I’ll be fffine," she muttered softly, already starting to wander from the bar. The fire elemental began to head his way out until he spotted the abandoned purse still at the bar. He picked it up, assuming it belonged to the drunk Patricia and caught up with her before she had made her way out the door.

"... Forgot this, 'mam," he said gently, holding her bag up towards her and her eyes trained on the flames of his hand not burning the strap before she burst into a series of giggles. Taking it from him, she slung it over her shoulder sloppily and did her best attempt at striking a flirtatious pose.

"See! Now you're a sweet monster. Fucking hot to boot! Why couldn't I live in a house full of yous," she blurted out, stumbling on her heels making her ankles sting. She cursed under her breath, pulling at the back of her heel that caused her to miss the blue tint on the fire elemental's face to her compliment. Knowing she was drunk he tried to brush off her flirty attitude and returned to his bar to finish up closing while she made her way out finally.

Even with the air being warm, she shook when a cold breeze pushed by her, considerably cooler than it was in that bar. Stomping her foot, she blamed the air for the chill and gave a look down the street, then towards the building she just exited. The sign reading Grillby's made her scoff at the memories of being here the other night.

"Got my damn drink myself, asshole," she proclaimed sloppily, raising an invisible glass and she turned to walk down the dark street only lit by the streetlights; it was a better part of the city at least and newly built with little spots of foliage here and there. The King of Monsters really liked his flowers. At one point in her stroll, she burst out in delayed laughter at the irony of her  _ hot _ compliment towards a fire elemental but paused after thinking she forgot something. The bike she rode there on did not even cross her mind, leaving only the phantom feeling of forgetfulness that she brushed off in her drunken state. So, she continued her walk.

Most businesses were closed up at this hour during the last day of the celebrations going on that was extended by a day, or least that was what she guessed since her concept of time during these past couple days has just been fucked. She had no idea which direction she was heading as well, her heels already causing her feet to throb and having to shake her head several times to resist the urge to pass out. If she could praise one thing that was how much safer monster areas were. 

Her wandering went on for what seemed like forever before she could hear the sound of crowded people. Gazing up from her drunken stupor, she saw Ebott University lit up before her. Monster and human alike were conversing outside and music blaring with even an impressive stage set up just in front of the school where performers were doing their routines. 

She got curious and, with her anxiety drowned out by alcohol, gave a push to make her way over towards the front gate. Leaning on the waist-high fence to stare out at everyone having fun, a smile crept up on her face to just the display of monster and human together, peacefully. It was not until she spotted a familiar tall figure in the crowds did she react. Ducking comically behind the entrance arch, she just peeked out a little to see Papyrus chatting with a group, completely natural in this setting and even relishing the social interactions. Despite her awkward hiding, he did not spot her through all the activities going on which took her far too long than she would like to admit to realize. Feeling quite dumb for her reactions, she walked around to at least lean against the archway with it being unlikely he would notice her. 

The noise of the festival soothed her, even finding herself closing her eyes before snapping back up to keep herself from falling over. Sure, she hated being in social situations, but observing them was nearly addictive. Part of her did wonder why she was just standing like a wallflower at an event like this, but perhaps it just felt nice to be around people indirectly. In fact, she felt warm... very warm!

"... So you came anyway. Why not join the activities?" 

That familiar crackling voice alerted her and she just about shrieked in surprise, stopping herself just barely as she saw it was just the fire elemental making his way in. - Oh right, she was standing right at the entrance so of course she would run into him if he just got here.

"Naaaah, little weird to walk around alone when I don't know anyone," she stated truthfully, but regardless, a smile formed on her lips. Just before she moved to exit, she saw a flame hand extended out to her, the fuzz of her intoxication made it hard to look at.

"... My name's Grillby, so now you know someone here," he said skillfully and flicked his hand for her to take. Despite that smooth move, a blue tint formed in the middle of his face at his obvious attempts at flirting. The interaction was so unexpected she stumbled on her unstable heel in the grass, her own blushing now only partially caused by her drunken state. Finding her hand moving on its own, she set it in his to feel how soft the flames actually were, and not too hot either reminding her of a heated blanket. His fingers closed over her hand causing a tingle of his magic against her skin to firm in a strange sensation that actually felt rather nice, flowing up her arm in a rippling effect. It was far different than when she touched the skeletons oddly enough.

"I'm huma-- I mean, P-patricia, sorry," an unattractive laugh erupted from her, "Haha, I've been called human so much in the past couple days I feel like I barely had a name anymore."

Grillby did not seem to mind while he boldly looped her arm into his with a smooth pull, or was he just keeping her from falling in her current state, at this point she did not care as she felt goosebumps forming on the contact with his arm. - Why did it feel like the heat from him was flowing across her entire body in dull pulses?

"... That so," he asked charmingly and began to walk, breaking her daze of staring at his arm and part of her mind not able to believe her situation since normally she would have yanked away to run off by such actions. With the alcohol in her system, however, she did not care, a derpy smile forming on her lips.

"You really got an ear full at the bar, so how ‘bout yooou talk instead, fireman," she inquired, her words flowing out with a strange confidence she could only have while she was drunk. The two of them strolled through the crowds that she did not even notice. - Maybe she should get drunk more often with how nice it felt to talk freely. - Although she nearly took them both down in a couple of stumbles, luckily this monster was stronger than he looked; tall too, not as much as Papyrus, still inches above her though.

"... What do you wish to know?" 

The blue tint on his face grew slightly to being caught off guard by her asking about him and she finally noticed it, feeling slight pride to flustering someone else. He was looking around for where to take them in the festival, only a couple of glances their way that he waved off in a friendly manner. This monster was a bit more known among his own kind it seemed, but no one seemed to be stopping them to chat.

"I k-know you monsters have been on the surface a while, but I have to admit, I've not interacted much with you all in like, a  _ normal _ way," she began before growing a look of unease and sunk down with a stutter forming, "Oh g-gee, that was bad to say, hah. I just mean I haven't gotten the chance! I don't really get out much, ha ha." 

Grillby was unphased by the slip, leading her towards the food stands, all of which were swimming with people and the smell of amazing foods. Most of the stalls were run by monsters by the looks of it, possibly showcasing their type of foods.

"... Do not worry, you would be surprised how often humans come in that have never even seen a monster yet," he hummed in consideration, the warmth on her arm left that made her feel sad before he motioned towards the food stands, "... You did not eat earlier. My treat?"

The offer was unexpected, but she nodded at him since food sounded really nice about now after drinking on a near empty stomach. He had noticed that after serving her most of those drinks for the past few hours.

"Long as it's not anything with mustard," she stated with a soft giggle and he nodded in understanding, beaming to hearing her laughter. How sweet it was to him, finding his soul thrumming to wanting to hear more. The two of them made their way towards a stand selling the most overstuffed burritos she had ever seen and when payment came she reached for her purse but was stopped by a wave of a flame hand.

"... My treat, remember," he said smoothly then handed over the payment to a cheerful looking slime monster who thanked him with glee, giving them their bags. She felt a little odd having someone else buy food for her, yet took the gesture thankfully. They did not hesitate to find a table to sit down at with her wobbling posture. - She only got stuck once with her heel sinking into the grass, Grillby helping her out of the situation with a chuckle.

"T-thanks, but you didn't have to pay. I mean my bank is kind of bare, but ha ha, sorry," she said shyly, fiddling with her dress while she sat down. It was not until the heat hit her did she notice him sitting next to her on the bench. Normally the proximity to a guy bothered her, but dang that alcohol fueling her confidence.

"... Would be rude to make you pay," was all he responded with, already unfolding the foil from his burrito. The comment left her confused, trying to figure out what he meant, but soon shrugging as she dug into her own burrito. It made her tongue tingle, not even giving a glance to the upside down heart sticker on the foil. Before she took another bite she found herself looking at him too obviously whenever he ate. He did have a mouth, the jagged edges of it just barely visible that she would have missed if she did not stare at him. Finally, she realized she had been gawking at him when the reflection of his glasses alerted her.

"A-ah sorry, again, I'm still pretty tipsy I think," she tried to excuse her staring and she was far more than tipsy with the dip of her eyes barely avoiding face-planting into her burrito. He only smiled at her while she buried her embarrassment in her bites.

"... I served you all those drinks, remember. Makes me curious what has you drinking so heavily tonight. You were quiet most of your time at the bar until the end when you rambled about skeletons," he questioned between bites, being startled by a raised finger from her towards him and she shook her head.

"Now now, I said I would a-ask you questions first," she said, actually not sure if she said that or not, "Like uh, oh! The place I was drinking at was called, uhm, Grillby's and you're Grillby so..."

"... Mhm, owned and ran it for a few years now. It was one of the first monster establishments on the surface," he boasted, her attention on his face while he did so, a soft blue color persisted across where his nose bridge would be. She so wanted to touch it, barely resisting the urge to do so, her hand darting back down to her side that almost subconsciously extended towards him.

"That's q-quite an accomplishment. You must be loaded to have pulled that off," she blurted out without thinking and luckily he only huffed a laughter towards her, nodding.

"... The gold of the Underground did go a long way. I owned a bar while down there and I would probably have more if that skeleton had paid his tab. I assume you know him from how you talked of one?" 

She froze to his question even though she had said several things about the skeletons, that expression she had when she first entered the bar clouded her face once more. Sadness and regret pooling into just outright uncertainty, still not sure how to even handle her situation properly.

"I d-don't want to talk about that," she said quietly, taking large bites of her burrito to excuse herself from speaking further and when he saw her reaction he nodded in understanding, yet letting her continue, "Besides them being stupid boneheads," there was a long pause, her face registering something, "Ha ha, oh fuck, I get it! Bones..." 

A sputtering giggle escaped her that she could not contain at her own realized pun, but it soon died off into an uneasy look that caused Grillby to decide to change the topic.

"... You know introducing humans to our food, that was an experience. Especially our alcohol," he pointed out with a grin which made her perk up to the subject change, his expression brightened that soothed her to see.

"Yeah? W-was anything I ordered monster brewed? I don't think I have tried it myself yet," she asked, letting her words come out far more sensual than she intended, even going as far as to lean against the table showing far too much cleavage and only catching it herself when she saw his face grow much bluer, hers turning red in response. She quickly waved her hands at him and added, "I m-mean really, I've just never drunk monster... drink-- er, alcohol!" 

He laughed at her reaction, finding it adorable even through his own fluster, this night being quite unexpected for him as it started off as just helping a drunk gal out and now turning into a pleasing experience for the fire elemental. Perhaps he did not want this to just be a one-night ordeal while his magic pulsed lightly her direction in the simmering heat he put off. This woman apparently also had no fear of monsters, quite the opposite even that only made him more interested.

"... No, you have to special order it since we make it different. Not all humans are comfortable with heavy doses of magic so we have to be careful," he explained with a nod at his own professionalism. A warmth crept closer to her leg near him and after a moment, she felt the fabric of a pant leg to her bare knee. Her usual jolt muffled as just an increase in her heart rate came instead and he intentionally nudged his leg against hers almost like coaxing her to relax around him. The warmth made her skin tingle, but her brain snorted at her to tell her it was just the alcohol still in her system and he was just being friendly.

"O-oh, maybe I'll have to try it sometime. It s-sounds amazing," her response was attempting to express her scientific curiosity but could be taken another way that she did not catch this time, finding herself leaning towards him again and thinking of how great having him around would be during the winter months.

"... I've told you a bit about me. What about you? What do you do for a living," he questioned casually, bringing the conversation back from their friendly silence. Really, she would not of minded sitting there quietly with him all night at this point, but perked up from her daze to his question and so she let out a loud scoff.

"Oh gee, that's a wild ride in itself," she let out a long breath, "I used to be a Biology teacher, but out of the blue I'm a friggen maid to a bunch of skeletons!" 

She laughed unattractively that he was adoring, her switch from being sensitive to mentioning the maid work now to venting her frustrations over it. This made the fire elemental curious though, relaxing an elbow on the table while he leaned towards her to listen, close enough for her to feel his hot breath causing a roll of sweat beading down her neck.

"... You do not seem the maid type. Why leave the job of being a teacher?" 

He came back with a heavy observation as if trying to divert from the talk of the skeletons. Rubbing the side of her face to vent any lingering stresses she had coming back, she shook her head.

"Well, I lost that job. Got outsourced so to say. Bunch of bastards, but let's just say I was a bit desperate to find a nice, easy job," she admitted, sinking her head slightly. Grillby gave a husky laugh, relishing in her company for the moment, but her brows scrunched to his unusual reaction.

"... Should have come to my bar. We always have spots open especially for humans. With so few living in this area it would be nice to have some on staff," he offered, the shine of his glasses indicating he was looking down at her a little more focused. She remained completely oblivious to his interest in her.

"I... I m-mean, you know, that actually sounds a bit nice, but I don't know," she said meekly, reaching to rub the back of her neck and finding the sweat there, "I kind of walked out on the maid job, I think. I technically am not really even allowed to work there yet with the paperwork," a shrug came from her in her continued ramble, "I'm living there right now though... Oh geesh, isn't that illegal or something?"

"... Mmm, I understand, but the offer will remain open anytime you need it, or if you even just need somewhere to go." 

The way he said that gave her so much comfort like she had somewhere to turn if things got bad causing tears to nearly well up in her eyes with her bright smile. In fact, some tears did drop out of nowhere that made Grillby shift in worry but only smile afterward at the realization. He was experienced in dealing with drunk patrons, handing her a napkin from their food bag. Despite how he was trying to come off, he grew uneasy at actually feeling a worry for Patricia’s situation.

"Sorry for all this emotional stuff, I'm really okay for now," she assured him in a smile so true through her words she even giggled and after a second she perked up, realizing something as she added, "Oh, I hope I haven't kept you from anything. You came here to probably hang out with o-other monsters." 

That and she was getting so tired, her eyes drooping after she brushed away the tears. The fact she was still awake with all that alcohol in her system was astounding.

"... Do not worry about that, you need the company," he eased her down, yet it made her feel bad that he was giving her pity. It was nice though, nodding at him quietly and being unaware it actually was far from pity, finding himself shifting closer to her, ready to put his arm around her.

"So what sort of things go on at these things besides food," she asked, trying to just enjoy this event through her drunken state, perhaps even finding some more booze later if she could and passing out hard. That was a thought making her chuckle to herself, very much wanting that to be the rest of her night.

"... Ah, well we ca--"

"GRILLBY! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL NIGHT? NYEH HEH HEH," burst out the voice of Papyrus that caused her to startle so hard she hit her knee against the underside of the table and let out a squeak through gritted teeth, "AH, I AM SO SORRY I ALARMED YOU, GRILLBY'S FRIEND!"

"... It is okay, Papyrus," Grillby tried to reassure the skeleton rushing over to them. He did not recognize her just yet as she was being looked over with concern by the fire elemental. "... You alright?" 

Grillby's tried to hold back any sort of laughter to her near comical startle she got, reaching over to gently pat her shoulder that he had been so close to draping his arm over. Giving nods, she rubbed her knee rapidly. It was nothing serious, just her heart racing at the scare.

"Mhm mmmhm-- just good, fine."

As soon as she spoke Papyrus squinted his sockets towards her. He recognized her now while he lit up with excitement.

"PATRICIA? Is that you," he asked, then suddenly posed gallantly to his observation, realizing it was her, "OH SO WONDERFUL! I DID NOT EXPECT YOU TO BE ATTENDING OR I WOULD HAVE SWUNG BY HOME TO PICK YOU UP! YOU MUST HAVE CAME HERE WITH GRILLBY BY THE LOOKS OF YOUR CLOSE PROXIMITY TO HIM! NYEH HEH HEH!" 

A shocking blush hit her entire face at hearing the implication from Papyrus, immediately covering her hands as she was affected by it even more so through her intoxication. She had not even considered what she and Grillby were doing as something of that degree.

"... I merely ran into her. She was at my bar beforehand," Grillby explained to try to spare her some embarrassment which thankfully helped, but it deflated Papyrus some. Regardless, she sunk further into her seat with paranoia in her intoxication coming through, wondering if he knew she left the mansion without telling anyone. She was so tense over wondering if she was in trouble or even might be fired that her hands clenched at the sides of her head.

"At your bar," Papyrus asked warily, hands moving to his hips in a scold, "AS MUCH AS I DISAPPROVE OF THE CHOICE OF FOOD AND DRINKS THERE, IT IS GOOD TO SEE HER ATTENDING THIS EVENT. AT LEAST SINCE IT IS THE LAST DAY, SO IT IS THE MOST GRAND." 

Papyrus held a slight cockiness to his pose, chest puffing and extending a gloved hand out towards everything around them still lively. He helped organize this event and it showed he was quite proud of the work put into it. The hand on her shoulder tightening finally broke her from her thoughts.

"... Are you well enough to see the rest of the festival, Patricia?" 

Grillby's concern melted into encouragement, their exchange causing Papyrus to lean closer to them in an inspection.

"PATRICIA, ARE YOU INTOXICATED? IS SANS AWARE YOU ARE OUT DRINKING," Papyrus investigated bluntly that made her shoulders scrunch up immediately. This was becoming too much now and despite her desire to spend more time with Grillby, she did not want to be dragged back to the mansion in her drunken state. Pulling away from the comforting heat she pushed herself off the bench, her legs barely keeping steady, but her world still spun. 

"I h-have to," her words came out unsure, so she just blurted what first came to mind, "... I have to go, I'm sorry."

Grillby was fast to get up as well, stepping to follow after her, but he was paused by Papyrus, allowing her to walk a distance from them. The fire elemental stared up at him in a challenge, silently demanding an explanation, flames flickering in defense.

"I WILL SPEAK TO HER if that is alright," Papyrus offered, although he respectfully waited on Grillby's response. The fire elemental backed down only slightly, but there was still a sternness to how he stood, skeptical of the situation.

"... I do not know what you and your brother are up to, but that woman was very distraught coming into my bar," Grillby stated, being straight with Papyrus with how odd the situation was from his view, "Some things I heard are not good. Not to mention Sans' concerning new  _ look _ plastered on the news. Are we having a repeat of  _ events _ a couple years back?"

"PLEASE, for my brother's sake," he said in a lowered tone, "... keep this between us," sighing uneasily, he shifted his sockets to the side, "I will be quite honest when I say I do not know what caused this exactly, but Sans will be informed sternly and our father has kept to his promises," so with a clear of his non-existent throat, he returned to his boastful attitude, "DO NOT FRET FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL EXPERTLY RESOLVE THIS, NYEH HEH HEH!" 

All he got was narrowed eyes, Grillby even crossing his arms and tapping his foot to cause the skeleton to sweat some. A lot of convincing would need to be done to get him to back down from this one entirely, already having in mind to talk to Sans about this.

"... You better, Papyrus. I am very close to reporting this to Asgore. You and your brother are old friends, so I trust your word," Grillby finally huffed, turning back towards the abandoned dinner with a sigh soon after. Papyrus understood, giving his best signal off to show he had this under control and headed off in the direction Patricia had gone. The fire elemental was left shaking his head while he went back to his own meal. - So much for his attempt at a date with a lady, not even remembering to get her number.

 

\--

 

Fuck fuck fuck!

Her mind screamed at her when she found herself in the middle of a crowd, how she ended up here completely a blur in her intoxication. Accidentally bumping into people, barely able to stutter out a sorry before she stumbled off again, an endless barrage of embarrassment that not even her drunken state could cover up. Loud music blared from the stage the crowd was gathered around causing people to scream and cheer, some others just as drunk as herself. She felt so dizzy, managing to spin around more than she would like in her wandering through the bodies. 

All she wanted to do was get out of this crowd! 

Her mind screeching at her to the point, she thought she was going to start crying. It did not take long for her to finally trip and no one to fall against so her bare knees hit the ground harshly that sent a stinging throb up her thighs. Being on the ground while in a hyped crowd was a terrible experience, fear coursing through her that she was going to be trampled by accident. At least one or two sensible people saw her and gave her room, but it was not enough to ease her.

No one was helping her.

Now she was going to scream or vomit, probably both, yet just before that choice was to be made she felt a grip under her arms, hoisting her up. In her drunken stupor, she kicked out, promptly clocking a poor random guy with her heel. Whoever was holding her gasped at the action, holding hard arms around her waist to try to calm her. They were probably saying things to her, but through the music and sound of the crowd, she could not understand it. Even the movement blurred, her heels just barely dragging on the ground while she was halfway carried out from the crowd, in such a state she could not even grip their arms properly. She was not even aware she was sobbing until the open air hit her face on finally exiting the crowd, a couple curious people casting glances towards them and even parting the way to avoid getting kicked at her squirming.

"PATRICIA, CALM DOWN, PLEASE," the familiar voice of Papyrus finally rang in her ears, but it did not ease her one bit and so she squirmed even more. She could not even budge as his arms were like iron bars locked under her ribs, intentionally holding her from falling over or running off again. A hiccuped whimper escaped her, but she was beginning to slow now while he pulled her over towards some benches.

Oh no, his squeezing at her midsection was too much paired with her dizziness after that experience. She wanted to say something but the next thing to come out was the hard burn in her throat. Doing her best to at least lean forward some she vomited out in front of herself with Papyrus behind her. Thank the stars she was downwind enough for it to not completely splatter on either of them. He had the reflexes to bend her forward, the substance hitting the grass and if she were coherent, she would feel so much guilt right now.

"WELL, UH, I WAS NOT AWARE YOU WERE THAT FAR INTOXICATED," Papyrus nervously pointed out, barely having avoided getting hit by the bile, "I-IT IS OKAY THOUGH, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM PREPARED FOR ANYTHING, NYEH HEH HEH!" 

A puff of his chest and his confident posture showed he was not backing down despite the fact she just threw up in his arms so, with slow motions, he set her down; her legs like noodles by this point. He helped her sit down on the bench that she promptly just laid down on once she was let go of not even caring that her dress had ridden up some when she sprawled out.

"Papyrus? Fuck, I'm s-sorry," she coughed out, staring up at the stars through the trees. Her mouth tasted horrible after that and her head spun, just wanting to close her eyes and pass out right here-- her eyelids even sliding shut. Hands on her jolted her back awake as Papyrus merely moved her to lay on her side and modestly tugged her dress down so she was not on display to the other festival goers. At least a few people curiously looked over that he waved off signaling that things were okay.

"PATRICIA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WHY ARE YOU NOT BACK HOME TO REST OFF THE ALCOHOL IN YOUR SYSTEM," Papyrus questioned earnestly, but she winced at hearing his loud voice, her hands even slid up to cover her ears while she curled up on the bench. He let out a long sigh at seeing her discomfort and her hesitation to answer, "I WILL TAKE YOU HOME AS SOON AS YOU ARE NOT ABOUT TO EXPEL FLUIDS AT ANY MOMENT," he added, examining himself, some of the vomit had splashed on his shoes that made his smile dip. It took a bit to hold back any sort of scolding he wanted to lay on her but finding this not the best time.

"Why do you yell so much," she asked in a grumble from her fetal position, not even caring how rude it was to ask since all she wanted was for the world to stop spinning and her eyelids to stop feeling so good when shut.

"WHY DID YOU DRINK SO MUCH, PATRICIA," he retorted in partial snark and more concern, not answering her grumpy question before he wandered off. Opening one of her eyes she felt some regret at seeing him depart, thinking he would just leave her there now. She deserved it she concluded, turning over on her back again trying to get comfortable. Eyes shut again and fatigue creeping up on her, the point of passing out so close she could barely hear the festival anymore. All that even hit her mind before darkness had been wondering what happened to people who passed out at events like this, would she be taken care of or just left there until morning.

Motion jolted her awake as the one waking her pulled her to sit up with warm gloves on her shoulders causing her to slump forward in her half asleep state. She whined in a childish manner, pushing at the arm trying to support her then opening her tired eyes into a glare only to be presented with a small bottle of water, likely purchased at one of the vendors.

"I d-don't want to drink it," she hissed, her throat still burning after vomiting earlier, promptly licking the inside of her mouth with click noises. - How long had he even been gone to find water anyway? - The bottle pushed closer to her causing her to reach out and grab it for fear of it being spilled on her, the top open and so she glared at Papyrus being the one trying to help her out. Guess he did not leave her there after all.

"YOU MUST DRINK SOMETHING, PLEASE, YOU ARE ALMOST AS BAD AS SANS," he muttered with some annoyance to only continue his chiding, "IT HAS BARELY BEEN A DAY SINCE I SAW YOU AND YOU APPEAR IN EVEN WORSE SHAPE... WHAT HAPPENED?" 

Papyrus continued to push her with a hard staring concern that made her chest tight, guilty tears already pool at the sides of her eyes. Awfully ironic that she bumped into him in such a state, the only time they have interacted being under duress. Lifting the bottle, she took a very slow sip of it that earned her a sigh of relief from above her.

"I live with assholes," she whispered against the top of the bottle and took another sip while she felt the arm behind her tense to her words, it did not even cross her mind that he also lived there. - That is an indirect insult to him as well.

"I APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONDITIONS OF OUR HOME," he said surprisingly reassuring that alerted her to what she said, "I AM NOT THERE AS MUCH AS I WISH I COULD BE WITH MY WORK AND THESE CELEBRATIONS," a guilty look painted on his face that he shook off with a confident puff, "I AM SURE ANYTHING THAT HAS TRANSPIRED IS EASILY FIXED THOUGH! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN ATTEST TO THAT."

"I s-should just quit," she let leak out, the alcohol in her system preventing her from thinking too positively, "I'm sure my-- my old apartment is still leased," there was hesitation with her memory so fuzzy, "I haven't called-- er, least I don't think I have..." 

Reaching up to rub at her eyes, she completely ignored the makeup that came off with it, pretty sure it was ruined by that point when she gazed at the black smear on the back of her hand. Despite not caring much about it, she rubbed her eyes out of habit in an attempt to not look too messed up.

"I AM AFRAID THAT I AM MISSING TOO MANY DETAILS TO RIGHTFULLY GIVE AN OPINION," sighed Papyrus truthfully, a clouded look lowering his head, "I DID WORRY SOMETHING OF THIS NATURE COULD HAPPEN, BUT SANS SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO ALLOW A HUMAN TO LIVE THERE-- ONE WITH NO EXPERIENCE OF MONSTERS NO LESS."

The passive scolding towards Sans just made her feel more guilty as she was the one who accepted the job, she could of easily just said no and left at any point. Regardless of that, she could not help but feel that she did not remember telling him she had inexperience with monsters, at least not at this moment, too drunk and tired to think much more on it. She wiped her hand on her dress and her eyes fluttered closed again as she slumped forward, her water tipped enough to drip some on her thigh made her startle back awake.

"W-what? I uhm, I don't remember... what you said," she said in a mutter, her awareness slipping with the sleepiness she had been fighting since the height of her drinking at the bar. Papyrus scrunched his brow bones in realizing how pointless it was to be asking her much right now, not the first time he has dealt with a sleepy drunk.

"WE WILL DISCUSS THIS IN THE MORNING, SO RIGHT NOW I MUST GET YOU BACK HOME AS YOU ARE FAR TOO INTOXICATED TO BE OUT HERE ALONE," was all he said before she could feel her world spin again, the movement of him pulling her up in a bridal style carry was nearly too much to handle. - All things considered, she was picked up more in the past couple days than she had been in her entire life, wondering what made these monsters so eager to do so with her to the point she tried to ask, yet all that came out was incoherent sleepy garble.  

Papyrus paid it no mind to her mutters and she just tried not to throw up again until her water bottle jittered enough to splash on her more. A whimpering noise escaped her especially when he bent down again to grab her purse. - How had that thing survived through all this? - When he moved back to stand straight she felt strange being so high off the ground, the height of this monster more than her experience with Blueberry.

"N-no no! I don't want to g-go back... back there!" 

She protested with a kick of her legs and clutching the water bottle so tight it made the plastic pop. The noise of it startled her enough to cause her to pause at trying to register where it came from.

"PLEASE CALM DOWN. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE TAKEN WHERE YOU RESIDE NOW THEN WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO SLEEP," asked Papyrus, already starting gentle strides towards the parking lot with her squirming being ignored as he carried her with ease. Only the cold water splashing on him now and then soaking through his dress shirt bothering him, but at least it was just water and not bile.

"They d-don't even want me there," she whispered, her breath hitched and the sting in her eyes too much for her to find any more tears to shed, closing them again to slump against his shoulder.

"I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT AS I AM AWARE THE ONES LIVING THERE NOW CAN BE... different, BUT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HIRED IF YOU WERE NOT WANTED," Papyrus said to try and reassure her, surprisingly he received no retort back, but instead heard gentle breaths escape her. She had finally succumbed to the drowsiness letting herself drift off at his words, oddly comfortable in his arms despite the bones digging into her.

She slept so quietly, Papyrus finding himself looking her over a bit more intently despite not being able to see souls as well as his brother, but he was concerned over several things in that regard. A long sigh escaping him as she appeared to be okay, but he was certainly not happy at finding her in this state. By the time he reached his car, he was promptly soaked by the water bottle falling out of her hands where he barely held back the shrieking  _ nyeh _ at the sensation. - Were his only encounters with this woman going to be cleaning up the others' messes?

 

\--Back at the mansion.--

 

The front door opened with the jingle of keys, Papyrus making his way in and Patricia fast asleep in his arms looking the most peaceful she had all day; hell, most relaxed she has been since being around these monsters. Lights were still on and the television was blaring with some action flick with the one watching it snoring away on the couch in a mess of junk food. Red often slept there by the looks of it, but odd he was asleep at this hour being more of a night dweller. Papyrus would not rouse him, his attention going forward to seeing Sans standing there, apparently expecting them by the look he gave and dressed down in his blue hoodie attire, a feigned surprise expression on his face. That was until Papyrus narrowed his sockets towards his brother that made the shorter monster begin to sweat, the first time seeing such an emotional shift on him.

"h-hey, bro, you found her. good job," praised Sans in an attempt to divert from his obvious knowledge of her state, but that stare he was getting was not letting up. He could tell he was in trouble at this point causing him to walk forward and slide his hands from his pockets as he spoke, "here, lemme take her off your hands. i know you gotta work again tomorrow."

"BROTHER--" Papyrus began, but the squirm in his arms alerted him to talk softer so he lowered his voice to continue, "I warned you that there would be complications bringing a human around these versions of ourselves. It was bad enough I found her injured the other night and intoxicated the next."

"mm, sorry bro, i--" Sans began to nod in acknowledgment, but then caught up with what he was hearing, suddenly confused and feeling as though he could slap himself in the face. No wonder she had Papyrus' magic on her, that and now he knows she lied to him, "injured last night? from what?"

Papyrus jolted, realizing his slip and attempted to cover it, yet he was already sweating himself.

"I m-mean, totally not finding her on the street with a broken hand with other me or anything. That would be absurd," Papyrus was a horrible liar, his bones already rattling while it was Sans' turn to narrow his sockets. The taller brother paused though, holding Patricia with only one of his arms as the other planted on his hips, "This isn't about that, what this is about is why I found her wandering around the five-year anniversary Celebrations completely intoxicated. With Grillby no less, who is not happy with what he heard, and neither am I."

Sans' eye lights shrunk considerably at hearing that, reaching up to rub his skull with more beads of sweat dripping down. Analyzing in his head how to respond first he let out the longest sigh he could muster. 

"we'll speak 'bout her hand supposedly not being broken later since i only found out she left after some sort of fight long after she was gone."

"Brother, you have made a mess regardless," Papyrus stated, shifting in his speech to Patricia wiggling in her sleep, "Was she not under your care," the question lingered as he worried of her waking up, this not being the best time to have a discussion. "You said you hired her and promised you would not let anything happen in convincing me to let her stay."

The stirring of her alerted Sans, his hands flicking out again towards Papyrus.

"howzbout we discuss it later? lemme take her to her room, showing you i can take care of her even tho' i did hire her to take care of us." 

That wide smile of his twitched as if asking Papyrus to trust him and surprisingly the taller brother bent down to hand her off to Sans, no warning she was a little damp from the water spilling on her.

"This does not let you off the hook, Sans. Once you have taken her to her room we will discuss this," Papyrus sternly put down to which Sans nodded in agreement. As soon as she was transferred her hands gripped at Sans' soft hoodie, her face nuzzling into it before the smell hit her that nearly woke her up as she whined in her sleep. Papyrus went to set down Patricia's purse by the couch and despite how soft the sound was Red jolted awake in a sharp snort.

"da fuck, who de fuck is-- er." 

Red glared up from his sleepy state at Papyrus then caught sight of Sans already making his way towards the stairs. The taller monster made his way around to sit on the couch just as Red sprung up from it to follow after Sans. Papyrus did not think much of it while taking the moment to unbutton his damp dress shirt. Catching up to him, Red gave a sniff towards Patricia before his face turned to disgust, but Sans did not pay him any mind, just making his way up the stairs and trying to ignore his other self. 

That was until Red finally piped up, "where de fuck was she? she fuckin' smells like booze and peoples, 'specially some monstah. who were rubbin' ups on her," he questioned in a growl of jealousy that Sans responded in an odd look at first, he was not as sensitive to smells as Red apparently was.

"uh, i don't know. why's it matter? paps carried her home if you're so concerned about that," Sans grumbled, he was tired and just wanted to get her to her room so he could sleep himself, wondering why he had offered to carry a fully grown woman up the stairs, his bones already regretting it. Red was not satisfied with that while grabbing the other's shoulder roughly to make him stop.

"i ain't talkin' 'bouts him, ya fuckin' idiot. smells like some bastard was purposely soakin' their magic ons her," Red growled, taking everything he could to not rip her from his arms, but he held himself back by stuffing his hands into his pockets. Honestly, he could not even figure out why he was acting like this, angrily questioning himself in his head.

The comment made Sans curious, focusing on Patricia and it took a moment for him to notice it, a faint residue of magic on her. Lowering his eyelids in irritation he could not believe such a thing would happen. He knew some monsters took interest in humans and were old-fashioned in the way of subtly marking when on  _ dates _ , however, it could even happen accidentally, no more than just a light touch of magic on her soul. It did not concern him beyond that as it would fade in a day or so and getting other monsters involved with this was certainly not on the to-do list.

"don't worry 'bout it. she was drunk and prolly out having fun," Sans sleepily explained, walking around Red to open up the bedroom door. He could feel struggled consideration radiating from Red, rolling his eye lights at it and so he decided to add, "what she does in her personal time ain't our business. you may be in charge of watching her now, but don't be stupid."

Those words did not calm the other down one bit, on top of which, he looked offended and angry all at the same time. Sans was surprised he had not tried to do what another monster had already started to; marking a human was far more common and socially accepted in this world compared to others, so that could explain it.

"whatcha means  _ stupid _ ? yer da fuckin' stupid one lettin' her get out! does havin' 'nother monstah gettin' in yer territory not fuck withcha," he snarled out his contradictions loud enough for Patricia to shift uncomfortably. The way she nuzzled her face into Sans' jacket was just enraging Red further. There was no way his soul should be throbbing so hard for some human not even from his reality. 

His jealousy burned and he wanted to steal her from this place; she smelled so good to him the moment he saw her, amazed he had held himself back so far. That was not even the first time he saw her after all by observing when Sans scoped out patient souls. When he saw her picture, her files, he snooped through them far too much and being the first to this world, he spent the most time there to be able to see all that was going on.

"no, so shaddap already. i know your world is messed up, but those who work for us ain't our  _ territory _ ," Sans blurted out bluntly in his own tiredness. The expression he got in return from Red only made him aware of some differences between their worlds, yet before any more retaliation came he slammed the bedroom door right in Red's face. 

Promptly, hissing curses and scratch noises soon followed as Sans used the time to go lay Patricia down on the bed after having to pry her hands clinging to his jacket. He finally got her sprawled out on top the blanket and straightened himself to give a huff in thinking that was good enough. Not bothering to tuck her in, he vanished from sight out of the room. The clawing at the door persisted for only a minute or two before Red retreated back to the living room. - For all the energy he gave at the door he could teleport in there himself, but he really was more for show than action.


	7. Slip of the Tongue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **[Author Note: Some chapters may be coming out a little slower here soon. I'm focusing on better proofreading which is very time-consuming.]**

Sans stood there in front of Patricia's door for what felt like hours, his normally sound mind disrupted by his lack of sleep these recent days, but still happening to chuckle to himself at an internal joke. Perhaps he should go work on the machine instead or sleep. - Yeah, sleep sounded nice. - A droop of his eyelids caused him to turn and begin shuffling away, yet before he got far he paused at a tall form blocking his way. 

"SANS? IT IS UNUSUAL FOR YOU TO BE AWAKE THIS EARLY, IS SOMETHING WRONG?" 

The concerned voice of Papyrus caused him to direct a lazy eye up, the taller brother’s form barely visible in the dark hallway. Sans shrugged slowly, keeping his hands deep in his pockets and oddly enough, he relaxed despite the fact he was just caught skulking around this early; just barely five in the morning.

"heya, bro. just keeping an eye socket out," said Sans in a huff, one of his eyes closing and his smile stretching further. He was telling the truth in a way, however, Papyrus narrowed his sockets at him, gripping the cup of water he had tighter. The other hand held a bottle of painkillers that spiked Sans' curiosity of what he was doing instead, "whatcha got there?"

There was a tension on Papyrus before he brushed it off with one of his straight-backed poses and announced, "IF YOU MUST KNOW, I ALSO WAS CHECKING ON  _ THINGS _ . YES,  _ THINGS _ ,” a shift of his sockets between his words, but he shook it off to continue addressing the situation with a confident puff of his chest, “I HAVE TO GO TO WORK SHORTLY SO I DECIDED TO DO A THOROUGH PATROL OF...  _ THINGS _ !”

Sans let out a long sigh and rubbed his skull, those rare glasses of his not present in this moment, possibly something he did not regularly need, but regardless, he obviously knew what was going on here. Papyrus could not hide anything even if a life depended on it, unfortunately. Luckily for this situation, it was not that dire.

"patrolling with a glass of water? must be a real...  **slippery situation** , heh." 

An exaggerated shrug escaped from Sans at that joke to which Papyrus groaned to, yet even through it, he gave a higher smile. The jig was up as much as Papyrus would hate to admit, shoulders slumping while he reluctantly gave in to the defeat through body language.

"WELL, ALRIGHT, I MERELY WANTED TO SPEAK TO PATRICIA AFTER LAST NIGHT. SHE WAS NOT HYDRATED ENOUGH AND SHE WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE A HEADACHE WHEN SHE AWAKENS."

Humming at the explanation, Sans nodded shortly after in understanding even though he already knew what he was doing, but wanted to hear it regardless.

"mind if i join ya? got a few things to talk to her 'bout too."

That was when Papyrus shifted uncomfortably and shook his head to which he surprisingly said, "I AM SORRY, SANS, I MUST SPEAK TO HER  _ ALONE _ FIRST. YOU MAY SPEAK TO HER WHENEVER SHE BEGINS TO FEEL BETTER. AS ONE IN THE FIELD OF AIDING HUMANS THIS IS A DOCTOR'S ORDER."

"a'right, bro. you always know what's best," Sans spoke with a genuine smile, he meant it and, to be frank, he was terrible at caring for humans himself, so having Papyrus help with cleanup was a load off his mind. All in all, he could not be upset or blame his brother for the choice and so he gave a wave towards him and began to walk off.

"BROTHER, wait..." Papyrus called out to pause Sans before he was out of earshot, "WHEN YOU HAVE A CHANCE, YOU MAY NEED TO SPEAK WITH GRILLBY. I UNDERSTAND YOU DO NOT WISH OTHER MONSTERS TO BE AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. - As much as I detest that. - PATRICIA MAY OF TOLD HIM...  _ things _ , but BESIDES THAT, PLEASE GET SOME REST AS MUCH AS THAT PAINS ME TO SAY! YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING FAR MORE THAN NORMAL..." 

There was a tired understanding across Sans' face while he turned to Papyrus briefly and nodded at him, he was not always the best at being able to hide things from him and his overworking was one of those. The darkness under his sockets really was horrible, even closing his eyes during his affirmation. Regardless, he really was not surprised by hearing Grillby knew about this especially if Patricia had been around him while drunk. Hell, even Sans has spilled more than he should of to the fire elemental; his trust in the old friend was strong though. 

Once satisfied with the response, Papyrus made his way down the hallway to head into Patricia's room. The door slowly opened by him after a gentle knocking, noticing it had not been locked.

"PATRICIA? ARE YOU AWAKE?" 

The entrance caused the sprawled form on the bed to move, she was still laid out there in last night's clothes, even down to her heels and her shifting in her sleep had only caused the dress to ride up immodestly while Papyrus made his way into the room. Apparently unbothered by the display of her lower half, he flicked the lights on and made his way in causing Patricia to groan still in a state of waking up. Proceeding to bury her face in the blankets she clung to, it became obvious that her attempt of keeping the bed clean was thrown out with the drool decorating where she had her head and dirt where her heels dug into the bed.

Papyrus sighed at how she was left from last night and made his way to bringing her desk chair over to the bed, yet instead of sitting, he set the water and pills on the cushion and turned towards her. The soft warmth of his gloves made her shudder while he removed her heels and the moment her feet were free she curled up tighter in her fetal position. He managed to pull the blanket from her death grip and tuck her in properly, sleepy grunts escaping her at every motion.

"I AM SORRY TO WAKE YOU, BUT WE MUST TALK BEFORE I GO TO WORK," Papyrus' said gently, yet his loud voice only served to disturb her more. Blinking her eyes open to see the fuzzy image of him, the light of the room only made her head throb more; the hangover was in full effect, but she tried to wake up.

"H-huh? P... P-papyrus," she asked in a choke, her throat hurting so much just as the memories rushed to catch up with her and her limbs regaining their feeling. Not being a morning person was really showing while she could barely find the energy to slip up in a slumped sitting position, part of her wondering what she was doing in her bed before she managed to remember most of last night in a cringe.

"Here, these will aid you feeling better," Papyrus spoke quieter at seeing her distress and handed over the water with two painkillers. The items being handed to her took a moment to register as she stared them down, but after a second she nodded while her head pulsated to the dull ache of her hangover. Taking the medicine with shaky hands, she managed to sip on the water before gulping down the pills and once she was done, the water was taken back from her, the cold sensation of the glass lingering on her hand. She used it to press to her head, relishing in the sensation.

Papyrus gave a cough to get her attention while he was sat down on the chair beside her bed now and getting a good look at him, she noticed he was dressed in something she would expect a doctor to wear. He even wore a name tag proclaiming just that, but that was not a big surprise by how he handled himself around her.

"PATRICIA, I KNOW YOU ARE IN SOME DISCOMFORT, BUT WITH THE ALCOHOL MOSTLY OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM I MUST ASK YOU A FEW THINGS," Papyrus began, a more serious tone to his voice, she still winced at how loud he spoke, but rubbed her head while she was quiet during all of this. He continued after a wary glance towards her door, "I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU ARE COMFORTABLE LIVING AND WORKING HERE. I SPOKE TO SANS AND, EVEN THOUGH I AM AWARE HE KEPT DETAILS OUT, IT STILL CONCERNS ME."

This made the rest of the memories of what happened to rush back to her with a thump of her heart. Squinting her eyes, she focused on the blanket, just realizing how tight she was holding it with her knuckles white before she tried to relax. If she was going to talk seriously about this to anyone this would be the time, but uncertainty was pounding her head as hard as this headache.

"I... I mean, I'll be honest," she bit on her lower lip to pause her comment and then let out a long breath, "the only thing keeping me from outright leaving is that some of you are-- innocent..." 

Her thoughts went to of how sweet Blueberry has been as well as Papyrus, hell, even Sans as mysterious as he was since she really had only off experiences with Stretch and Red that she did not want to think about right now. Beyond that, she really should be looking at all she was actually given, a couple of bumps were worth getting to live in a mansion for basically free which reminded her she should probably actually do her job.

A long sigh came causing her to look up at Papyrus, wondering if he was relieved or exhausted with her vague speech, she could not tell. An awkward silence formed between them after that which sent worries into her chest.

"THAT IS RELIEVING TO KNOW AT LEAST. WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS HOUSE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MY BROTHER. COMPLICATED, BUT IMPORTANT," Papyrus stressed, especially in his last words that he narrowed his sockets to in thought since he understood Sans more than anyone else there. After a moment, he shook his head at the further thoughts.

"I feel maybe I shouldn't know what’s so important," she inquired with a sigh of her own, thinking through all the situations she had been in really opened her to the logical thought that she was only meant to be a maid here; she did not need to know everything that happened.

"PATRICIA, I JUST NEED TO KNOW YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WORKING HERE," Papyrus stated more sternly then softened his glance off to the side, "I CAN ARRANGE TO HAVE YOU MOVED AND I AM SURE GRILLBY WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP YOU WITH A JOB. - YOU TWO SEEMED RATHER CLOSE..." 

He gave her a suspicious look to remembering how he saw her and Grillby sitting together at the festival and her face began to burn at the implication. She had only just met that monster and she was drunk, the memories of just about nuzzling up on the fire elemental at a table flooded back to her.

"I... I we- we aren't  **close** ! - I mean, he's  _ nice _ … - But, we j-just met and I was really-- uh, I was drunk and he was just h-helping," she said in a series of stuttering and mutters that flowed from her incoherently which took Papyrus by surprise. Upon realizing her embarrassment, he let out some teasing  _ nyeh heh's _ that only made her burn further with a lingering warmth in her chest making her heart thump even harder.

"JUST DO NOT GORGE ON THE UNHEALTHY FOOD HE SERVES," huffed Papyrus in his obvious distaste towards bar food, "WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR PERSONAL TIME IS YOUR BUSINESS, BUT AS GREAT AS I AM I CANNOT KEEP HEALING YOU." 

Papyrus huffed after his light scolding towards her that made her jolt with some discomfort, but she nodded in understanding. No more drinking for a while, although she was not keen on what he meant by unhealthy food. - She decided not to press the topic. - Another thought crossed her mind making her shift uncomfortably on the bed. 

"S... s-sorry, that you uh, I mean, our only interactions seem to be you helping me," she sputtered embarrassingly, not making eye contact with him. Unexpectedly, a reassuring hand pat on her shoulder causing her to dart her eyes up at him to see his smile was soothing, confident even.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MORE THAN ENJOY AIDING OTHERS SO DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT," he announced proudly, "IT WOULD BE NICE TO SPEND REAL TIME WITH YOU WHENEVER WE HAVE THE CHANCE. I HAVE YET TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY INFAMOUS SPAGHETTI! NYEH HEH HEH!" 

With that, he removed his hand from her shoulder to give a pose in the chair, that scarf of his fluttering despite no wind blowing, but she noted he wore it in every outfit he had been in. - It fit him well.

"That would be nice," she responded that sent an exaggerated bashful expression on Papyrus' face that he shook it off shortly after while she leaned back on the pillows, wishing the painkillers would take effect already.

"YOU NEVER ANSWERED IF YOU ARE COMFORTABLE LIVING HERE," Papyrus brought up which woke her out of her comforting daze, almost forgetting she had to answer that. So she rubbed the side of her face realizing it was a hard choice, but she went through the pros and cons in her head to finally decide.

"I think I can manage it, for now. The good outweighs the bad, and we don't always have to get along with our co-workers?" 

She smiled at him, trying to lighten the situation when she wondered if they were technically co-workers or roommates with Sans supposedly her only boss. Papyrus still gave her a hard stare, barely lighting up, but he nodded, making it obvious that was not the choice he would have preferred. He pulled a small notepad from one of his coat pockets as well as a pen while he began to write something down. After a moment he tore off a page to hand over towards her.

"THIS IS MY PERSONAL PHONE. PLEASE, IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG, DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL ME DIRECTLY. PLATONICALLY, OF COURSE."

Blinking at the paper she was handed, she noticed it to be a prescription page, but currently just had a phone number written on. Her first reaction was to reach for her phone to input it, but the device was not on her nightstand, causing her to sigh. She would have to find it where it had gone in all of last night's chaos so, instead, she placed the paper where her phone normally would be.

"Thank you, Papyrus," she said in a trail off, biting her tongue to wanting to say more to him as he began to stand up, pushing the chair back over to her desk. She shifted awkwardly on her bed, about to say what was on her mind when his attention went towards a small clock on the wall causing him a panicked look.

"I'M GOING TO BE LATE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHOULD NEVER BE LATE, SO I MUST DEPART! NYEH!"

That was the last she heard him say before he was already rushing out of the room, not even giving her a chance to respond, it surprised her by how sudden of a reaction he had and fast movement. Her door slammed with such a force it bounced back open leaving her disappointed they could not speak more. 

A cool chill entered the room at the door being left open that she actually welcomed, her headache still looming and making her reach to take another gulp of the cold water on her nightstand. It was far too early to get up so she settled back down on the bed. Right now she did not even care to try to slip into something more comfortable before sleep overtook her.

 

\--A few hours later.--

 

Woken up again. Her head throbbed so much more this time around, the painkillers long since worn off and so she pulled a pillow to squish against her head to relieve the pressure. What woke her up though was talking right outside her open door, the pillow against her head providing in muffling it enough for her to not understand what was being said. - Did they really need to be talking right outside her door? 

A very relaxed Stretch was standing in his usual slumped way in front of Sans speaking to him. They were discussing something with one another, but she could not see or hear them enough to care and in their focus on each other, they did not notice Blueberry squeezing into the room past them. The shorter monster made his way over to the edge of the bed with an exaggerated attempt at stealth to not alert the others which surprisingly worked. Patricia herself did not notice him at least until a blue glove lifted the pillow from her face curiously, the light hitting her vision from the blue eye lights of his. Her room was dark otherwise without the light on, only the hallway providing vague light.

The sudden Blueberry in her face startled her causing her to inch backward as his expression lit up on seeing her awake. He was already bouncing with excitement, holding back from his usual volume to whisper toward her, unusually good at keeping sneaky when he wanted to be.

"Human human,  _ shhhh _ ," he held a finger up to his teeth, "I came to see how you were doing. You went missing before our cooking lessons and had me worried," there was a pout on his face which made her frown in guilt, but just as quick it turned into a sad expression, "I... I t-thought I may have done something wrong. To-- to scare you off."

That hit her heart hard, causing her to pull the pillow away and sit up in the bed, Blueberry's eyes following her motion and leaning on the bed so far he had his hands on the edge of it. She shook her head, trying to cast him a smile in the dark room.

"No no, it was nothing you did. I just, I had to go do...  _ something _ , something important." 

She knew that was a terrible lie, but she could not bring herself to tell him the truth, yet she worried he might see through it or question her. Strangely what she got had been a sink in the bed and hard arms around her before she saw the motion; granted, they were in the dark after all. This monster has hugged her more in the past couple days than she had received in her whole life, finding herself glancing down at the white skull nestled against her chest to which she could only let out a long breath to, letting him embrace her tight. He did not let up though that caused her to place a hand on his shoulder and he jolted at the contact, peering up at her instantly. That pout was back making her wonder how managed to pull at her heartstrings so heavily.

"You should have told me, human. You did not tell anyone and Paps made me go to bed instead of waiting all night for you like I wanted to," he whined at her now before he grew stiff, " **Do not** do that again." 

That last statement he made sent a chill down her spine, his tone shifting to something more demanding, but he was so adorable it was hard to take it very seriously so she rubbed his shoulder to try to soothe him. 

Nodding to his request she replied softly, "Sorry, I'll try not to do it again. Maybe we can actually do our cooking lessons for dinner?" 

Her suggestion was reasonable, figuring her hangover would be eased by then. Not getting a chance to think about what might entail, she felt the vibration of excitement in the monster still clung to her, her offer made him tighten his hug tenfold and cause her to lose her breath. Just as she thought he was going to break her, she felt him freeze. His breathing grew deeper and a silence penetrated the air. The feeling of worry tugged at her as if she had upset him again somehow, barely hearing a mutter against her that she did not understand. Just as fast as he did that he went back to his nuzzling at her, the scrape of his skull on her bare collarbone reminding her of her low cut dress. Trying to ignore the light blush on her face, she gazed up towards the doorway where the other two had been only to find them no longer there, probably walking off after their discussion. Guess that was one relief off her mind.

When her attention went back to Blueberry he was staring up at her with searching eyes which was not too strange to her since, in her mind, he was curious, finding herself patting his skull passively. His meddling was endearing though, but she still found herself looking away from him at his silent staring. It was a little embarrassing especially with how long this hug has been going on.

That did not prepare her for what happened next though. 

Through the darkness of the room, she only felt the bed shift and then something hard pressing against her mouth, a smooth surface against the softness of her lips and parted light of his lidded sockets shining against her shocked face. It took only a second to realize that Blueberry had moved up on the bed enough to press his teeth up against her lips in a kiss. Her eyes widened at the realization of what was going on with his mouth against hers awkwardly until the feeling of static jolted her. 

She could not believe what was happening, her face instantly heating as she pulled away after that shock, almost breaking the kiss, but the bold monster did not let up or let her go, those tight arms around her preventing her from going far and his mouth only followed hers-- muffling her as there was another stronger shock to her lips. It sent shivers down her whole body in sensation and she could only guess it was magic, his sockets shut in the action now. He was almost bent over her by this point that made her feel small considering he was shorter than her, showing a bit of hidden dominance in him.

As fast as it had happened he pulled away from her with a victorious expression on his face allowing him to take in every detail of her flushed expression, his eyes pulsing at her in their solid circles. That was very unexpected, leaving her bewildered, flustered, and just at a loss for words. 

Even with the lack of lips, she was sure that was a kiss. That was... a kiss, from Blueberry of all the monsters. If it were not for his obvious arrogance towards how flushed he made her she would try to chalk it up to curious ignorance.

"Human, you have been left speechless by my cunning actions I see. I really must be that magnificent, mweh heh heh," his words whispered out, still keeping quiet. This time though, it felt so much more sensual, even his voice was deeper, almost identical to Sans. This made her far too aware of how close he was and so her heart raced when she sucked in her lower lip unsure what to say, just a squeaky breath coming from her. Much to her surprise, he moved off the bed, the throbs in her shoulders a clear indication marks would be left from just how tight he was holding her. Now she wanted to say something, but she was transfixed on him finally opening his mouth, not even doing that during the kiss. His teeth parting to present pointed canines just as a gel-like tongue slipped out. He swiped it across where his teeth had pressed to her mouth before retreating back into his mouth. - That was not helping her blushing one bit!

"B-blue... I... you--" 

That was all she could muster, but it was only stroking the monster's ego further and he stood off the bed now while he posed dramatically, his mouth snapping shut with a click.

"DO NOT FRET HUMAN, THAT IS ONLY STEP ONE," full volume returning to his voice, "I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW I HAVE EXPERTLY RESEARCHED FLIRTING, SO PREPARE YOURSELF," he declared with unrivaled confidence, "MWEH HEH HEH! OH AND DO NOT FORGET OUR COOKING LESSONS LATER!" 

Not giving her any chance to respond, he rushed out of the room leaving her realizing he just said he was flirting with her and if he ever showed any signs before then she had been completely oblivious. No, she could not just let that go as she tried, and failed, to pull from her covers. All she ended up doing was flop forward on the bed ungracefully just as her door was shut on his exit. Left in the darkness with nothing more than the glowing stars on her ceiling.

"W-wait!" 

Cries of trying to get him back were met with empty air now. - This was not how she wanted things to go at all! How did it even lead up to this? - She was left grumbling into the blanket, her entire body tingling softly. If Stretch was not going to kill her before then she was sure he was going to now.

 

\--

 

Falling back to sleep was impossible and this headache was only growing worse the longer she laid there. She needed more aspirin, an ice pack, or a fucking cold shower! - That had to be a dream that just happened, right? - There was no way the sweetest monster she had met just stole a kiss then held such a prideful look afterward. She was not even sure how to feel about that while her heated face pressed into her pillow, and not only that but now she knew they had tongues; there was no telling what else they could have! 

Breathing out in a silent scream, she continued to lay there, venting her frustration, both actual and sexual that only made her crave a cold shower more. Deciding on that choice, she slipped from the bed, straightening the dress around her, nearly forgotten she was still wearing it, but this time she made sure to grab a set of clothes before going over to head out of the room. The moment she opened her door she was met with one of the last monsters she wanted to see right now, his hard stare and growling breath noticed from across any room. Unaware her face was still blushed over and probably a complete mess, she expressed surprised at Red standing there. He mirrored her before he got a good view of her making her wonder why he stood right outside her door - Can she really not get a break?

"ya looks like shit," he stated bluntly with a chortle on the end of his breath. Not wanting to entertain him right now, she sidestepped past, yet he was far from done and stalked beside her, studying her with far more interest than normal. Like a cat when you were carrying a plate of food.

"'Least let me take a shower first, please," she asked, her dry voice barely came out with it hurting to talk right now and she attempted to avoiding eye contact with him. Not hesitating any further, she moved to open the bathroom door but was swiftly met with one of those clawed hands slamming it shut. He was so close she could smell the rough aroma he had on him that reminded her of a mixture of mustard, dirty socks, and dirt; it made her nose curl.

"mm dunno, princess. ya knows i was made in charge of ya now," he hummed, all too satisfied with his statement and she rolled her eyes at him, feeling this was just another ploy to rustle her. Turning to face him, she just saw those dots of red in his sockets boring down at her, expanding ever so slightly when they fell to follow her body in the disheveled dress she wore. The memory of what he said last night cast her face from him with a frown, ignoring his ogling.

"I find that unlikely," she spat at him within her distaste of how friendly he was trying to be now, her voice lowering to a whisper when she finished with, "Thought I didn't matter..." 

That soured his expression, almost retreating from her, but instead, he held his ground so much he leaned in closer to growl right against her. She had forgotten, despite their heights nearly matching, that he was still larger than her in the broad sense. A click from his jaw caused her to dart her eyes down to that dangerous maw of his until the dirty thought of wondering if he had a tongue as well invaded her mind. Immediately, she looked away and internally cursed at herself that this was not the time nor the place, but it was too late, she could already feel the heat rising on her cheeks; the worse part is, he noticed.

"oh noes, doll, ya don't matter," he said, getting distracted by her reddened cheeks, "... but what's gotcha all hot tho'? could smells ya from out here n' now yous all flushed." 

His inquiry purred out at her and he leaned forward as if to inspect her more closely like a curious animal, his breath hitting her face and down her neck which was becoming too much. Fear of what he might do prickled at her skin, almost like anticipation-- did she want him to do something more? The blush only increased the longer he stood so dangerously close, effectively caging her against the wall. - Wait, did he just affirm him saying she did not matter?

Her shoulders bridled to realizing the accusation, breaking her from the flustered state he locked her in and so she raised a hand from her bundle of clothes to slap away his arm on the door. Much to her surprise, he removed it when she did that, an amused breath escaping him while she used the chance to pull the door open.

"F-fuck off! Can't… can’t a girl get p-privacy for  **five seconds** ," she said, barely able to make out the words as she slipped through the open door for her escape into the bathroom and shut it quickly after. Red allowed her to do so and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, satisfied with his actions for now. He wanted her to shower anyway with foreign magic clinging to her that caused him to grow defensive and gave him the consideration of marking her himself. - Of course, a shower would not clean the soul, but it helped get the scent off the rest of her body. Blueberry's scent lingered on her too that did not surprise him from how hug-happy he was, yet he saw no threat in that version of himself though. - Shrugging off the thoughts, he made his way down the hallway where he simply waited with his back to the wall. His new job was to be keeping an eye on her now anyhow and,  _ boy, _ he was good at his job.

 

\--

 

The throb of her head eased over the rest of the morning as it settled into the afternoon and so she had finally been getting through the chores, currently wiping down the kitchen cabinet. Memories of what happened with Blueberry this morning never left her mind, finding herself idly touching her lips any time her mind wandered. She shook her head as cleaning was the best distraction she could think of with browsing her laptop just a strain on her headache. Of course, her work would be much more bearable if she did not have Mister Stalks-a-lot on a stool at the kitchen island and his feet propped up obnoxiously, eyes surprisingly shut for a short nap. The temptation to knock him over was strong, but she used the time instead to move on to the next room. 

Wandering into the living room, she was surprised to not be greeted by the other residents. They must be off doing other things that caused curiosity to boil in her head before she told herself to stop prying into their business. She was a maid, not a babysitter.

The next couple of hours went by relatively quiet, managing to get a good sum of work done. She cleaned the kitchen and tackled the living room, an unreasonable amount of mustard bottles tossed behind the couch nearly causing a stop to her progress; so thankful to find gloves and not have to touch some of the things she found. Sans was not lying about monsters being as dirty as humans and speaking of them, it seemed her valiant  _ bodyguard _ slept during the day as anytime he moved it only lasted long enough for him to spat an insult before passing out again. Now, he was retired on the couch she just cleaned making her roll her eyes at him not even bothering to clean off his shoes or at least take them off. Not wanting to bother waking him, she used this time to go and clean the stairs now, remembering that glob of mustard from before on the railing. 

Eventually, she made her way downstairs in taking care of things in the upper levels, her attention going down the dimmer lit hallway once she reached the last step. This part of the mansion always intimidated her, but she grew curious. Free of Red looming over her or any dire obligations, she gave a search around to sate her curiosity. No blue stop sign at just walking down the hall, after all, leaving behind her bucket of water and rag she used in cleaning the railing. 

A door relatively close to the stairs was the one she remembered Alphys exiting, a blue stop sign above the keypad keeping it shut. The metal of its surface made clear of the higher security level, in fact, movement caught her eye as a camera shifted above her. Startling in surprise to the object, she could have sworn it followed her motion or even was manually operated. Not wanting to get caught snooping, she got far away from that door in an awkward fast walk down deeper into the lower levels.

Not much else different down this way until she reached the Lab, the doors still broken down, but at least the mess of it had been picked up. She guessed she was not the only one taking care of things, or at least partially as the pieces of wood were just shoved into a pile next to the door. Now, she peeked in from the edge of the doorway, the lights still on and machines buzzing with life like every other time she had been in there. She allowed her curious stare to go around at all the equipment that really put any labs she has been to previously to shame; even the ones at her college when she studied her field. 

Soon, her attention landed on Sans at one of the stations, wondering if he was the only one that ever worked down here. He seemed engrossed in what he was doing, the smoke of a sautering iron flowing in front of him and a device in his hand that appeared to be a speaker of some sort. She could not see it too well, but there were a lot of mechanical parts spread on that table.

"you can come in, ya know. lab ain't off limits," Sans spoke suddenly in her direction without moving from his chair that startled her far more than she would have wanted. Promptly, her eyes narrowed his direction, suspicious of how he had even seen her, she was purposely being as quiet as she could be. Regardless of her failed attempt at snooping, she made her way into the Lab, her interest in the stations plainly obvious from her wonderment. Sans turned in his chair while he watched her, analyzing her as much as she was the tubes and devices on each table and it did not take long for her to realize he was staring at her that sent a flush of shame to her cheeks.

"N-not sure how I'm going to clean this place," she hurriedly pointed out to divert from her meddling, "I'm unsure if it's an organized mess or just a mess." 

One of her fingers slid along a nearby surface, most certainly dirt or some sorta substance clinging to her finger that she did not want to chance too much so she rubbed it off on the plain pants she wore. The action had Sans considering her attire and how it was dirtied from her work upstairs.

"ever reconsider a uniform? don't wantcha to ruin all your clothes," he suggested, which surprisingly reminded her of that, although she struggled to suppress the thought of the more frilly maid outfits. He slyly took the hint from her expression to chuckle out an additional comment, "a real uniform. tho, i wouldn't be 'gainst seeing ya in lace."

Did he just flirt with her? - A wink followed his statement to confirmed that and so her cheeks warmed even further, turning away from him with a snap. Now, she rubbed her face to feign that she had an itch. Right now she wanted to kick herself being so sensitive to such light actions, although there was nothing light about what Blueberry did this morning. - Not the time to be thinking about that! - Her head shook to get rid of the thoughts and focus back on having a normal conversation.

"N-no lace... I'm sure Red would explode if I wore anything of that caliber," she muttered under her breath, always figuring Red either really hated her or was being a smitten bully, but she was willing to bet on the latter, "A real uniform would not be bad though."

"i'll write up the order for ya later," he hummed in response fairly professional, although surprised she caught on to Red's behavior. A yawn came from him shortly after, she wondered if he had stayed up late since it was just the afternoon. His attention went back to what he was working on causing her to make her way over to his table.

"What's that," she asked while pointing out towards the device he worked on, vaguely able to tell what it was but she never knew with monster technology.

"speaker system. one of them was broken so i had to fix it," he explained, turning it over to show it was just a fist-sized speaker. That was not something she expected to be worked on in a lab like this, but she nodded at the indication. 

"For what? To play some music through the building," she playfully questioned, not being too serious. As she awaited his response, her attention wandered over to some of the buzzing machines with interest; getting to look over such high tech was a unique experience even if she was unsure what most of it did, but she did recognize some of them, like a tumbler for separating liquids.

"alarm system, actually. just got a few more to place up," Sans answered and pointed towards a crate nearby the table with only a couple other speakers placed. It took her attention away long enough to bend down and pick one of them up. Really, at this point, she was just distracting herself before she went back to cleaning.

"Doing it all yourself? Need any help?" 

She set the speaker back down in the crate as Sans pulled the device he was working on away from himself. The smoke from melting the metal hit his face that he did not even flinch from. She wondered if he was just immune to fumes or used to it. How the skeleton's bodies worked confused her more than why some teased her in a flirty manner despite being different species.

"not many workers here to do this kinda stuff, but no need to help out though, i'm nearly done," he said with an exhausted drawl in his tone now. She had noticed before he did not have much conversational endurance.

"Well, alright. Need anything else before I continue my work, boss," she offered far too casually, even punctuating the word  _ boss _ with a little hand signal. Much to her surprise, his shoulders jumped at her wording, but not able to see his face when he nearly dropped his sautering iron. - Huh, had she said something wrong?

"i mean, unless ya wanna reconsider the lace," he started with a snort and turned his face towards her with his sneer far wider than normal. An obvious tease that made her cheeks flare red once again and turn away from him when he began to laugh his next words, "ya know, wearing a cute dress and giving my lab a good dusting."

Okay, she was done with his playful mocking, eliciting a pout from her as she knew he was just rustling her feathers at this point. Stomping away from him only made his snickering increase and his attention returning to his work.

"See if I offer my help anymore! I am filing for sexual harassment," she jokingly announced on her way out. After she was out in the hallway she paused to actually wondering if she could file for sexual harassment. Technically the other residents were more like roommates though and not co-workers. Shrugging off the details, she made her way down the hallway to head back towards the staircase. When she passed the creepy security heavy door the camera followed her which did not ease her feeling of that room one bit. 

Hurrying her walk to nearly a dash for the staircase, she went back to the main level. Red was still right where she left him, although now he had a death grip on a couch pillow. It took a lot of resistance not to take it from him and smack him over the skull with. That would be mean though, yet deserving and for now, she continued her housework until Blueberry showed up, where ever he was.

 

\--

 

"Blue, that's too hot!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? IT WILL NOT COME OUT PROPERLY WITHOUT ENOUGH APPLIED HEAT!"

The noises erupting from the kitchen alerted Stretch from his lounging on the couch. It caused him to grumble, standing his way up and heading over to the swinging doors. When he put his skull close to it he could hear the sounds of thudding and... squishing, interest overtaking him while he pushed the door open.

"WHY ARE YOU BEATING MY MEAT SO MUCH? IS IT NOT READY TO JUST PUT IN?"

"Gah, don't say it like that!"

The continued conversation only made Stretch stare out at the two working at the cabinet. Patricia had an apron on while she was doing something out of view. Blueberry leaned over towards her on his stool at the stove with a hot pan sizzling with oil in it.

"what's happenin' here," Stretch finally asked, getting a sharp turn of attention from Patricia towards him, her face red in second-hand shame and caught in a snickering laughter at Blueberry's word choices.

"THE HUMAN IS TAKING FAR TOO LONG TO BEAT MY MEAT WHEN I INSIST IT IS ALREADY PREPARED ENOUGH TO PUT IN THE PAN," Blueberry explained without a second thought on his phrase which was too much, she was laughing loudly now at the way he said that. Moving to the side she displayed the wooden mallet in her hand that she indicated towards Stretch, not wanting the lankier brother to get the wrong idea. At first, he narrowed his sockets towards her, but once he caught on to what was happening his teeth arched into a smirk. Now he was the one trying to hold back a laugh, the first real emotion she had seen on him in a while.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE TWO OF YOU?! I'M BEATING MY MEAT ON MY OWN NEXT TIME WITH THE HUMAN TAKING TOO LONG!" 

Blueberry just dug his grave deeper, reaching over for the tray of freshly pounded hamburger meat that she allowed him to take since she busied herself in controlling her giggles with a hand wiping a tear from her eye.

"iuno, bro. she seems pretty good at beatin' meat," Stretch commented to just make sure and stab the joke even harder. Such a small thing lifted her worries, hearing him joke in such a manner around her now, but that would not excuse the other night's confrontation. It was a start she guessed, yet still made her look at him far different while she turned to fiddle with the vegetables.

"NONSENSE, PAPS, YOU KNOW I AM THE BEST WHEN IT COMES TO PREPARING TACOS. I HAVE BEEN THE ONE TEACHING HER WHAT TO DO ALL EVENING," Blueberry proclaimed confidently, his chest puffing just as he dumped the meat into the hot pan. Hot oil punctually flew everywhere that she barely had time to jump out of the way of, the monster completely unaffected by it before he began to stab at the already searing meat.

"You need to turn the burner down or you'll just burn it and it'll still be pink," she said in an attempt of scolding him, but he sure was stubborn, pouting defiantly at her trying to steer the food so she reached over to turn the burner down herself. Despite the awkward encounter she had with Blueberry earlier, she recovered pretty quick, finding difficulty in avoiding falling comfortably around the ball of friendly energy. 

Stretch already retired himself back to the living room after seeing things were going fine with the  _ cooking lessons _ , the energy in the kitchen far too much for him so he settled down near Red who was lost in the violent movie playing. - Really the only type of content ever playing on that television.

Out of earshot of Patricia, Red took this chance to catch Stretch's attention. "ey, weed breath, so whatcha rile up de bitch wit' last night?"

"nothin', don't worry 'bout it," was all Stretch returned to the question and this did not settle well at all with Red so he glared daggers at the overly relaxed monster.

"dontcha be a fuck. de freak told me ya had done somethin' ta her ta make her leave and get plastered," he snarled out in accusations, but Stretch only shrugged lazily, closing his sockets as he was partially ignoring him at this point.

"let her know she ain't important. not a big deal since you ain't either," he answered finally, sinking further in his spot. The couch made a light tearing noise with Red's fingers digging into the cushion at hearing that. He could not even challenge it directly without sounding like a hypocrite after telling her that himself.

"she is 'nuff fah de freak ta put me in charge of babysittin'," Red vented his frustrations then hesitated before his next statement as if he was not truthfully saying it, "d-dunno why we shouldn't just get a new human."

He was obviously infatuated with Patricia in such a short time and Stretch caught on to that obviously, just, he did not care enough to call him out on it.

"sucks for you. he's been havin' my bro and i scope out dead worlds," Stretch admitted without concerning himself with keeping anything secret especially since he did not need to with Red the only one able to hear him. It still made the edgy skeleton huff, annoyed at hearing that.

"ya mean yous get ta go 'round other worlds while i'm stuck watchin' an unimportant slut?" 

Red snarled in resentment, actually upset if that was the case, his claws getting stuck to the cushion he was digging his hand in for just a moment, bits of fluff coming with it as he yanked it free. Stretch continued to show as little effort as possible to the conversion in a drawn-out yawn.

"not like i really wanna, just what makes my bro happy. ‘sides, it’s pry cause you bitch 'bout everythin'."

Just before Red gave his response, they both looked up to Sans making his way into the living room, one of the speakers he was working within his hands while he walked over to place it on the coffee table. The other two eyed the device and Sans gave a survey around the room.

"paps home yet," he asked that made Stretch shift around with a grumble, obviously disliking not being the one called 'paps' here, but he still responded with a shake of his head. Red, however, was still caught up in his conversation while he sprang from the couch to approach Sans.

"ey, why dontcha lets me go ta othah worlds? dis place is borin' as shit," he demanded with a snarl in Sans' face and all he got was a roll of eye lights then he turned away from him.

"ask gaster, not me," Sans hissed in a whisper, "keep it down 'bout that with patricia in the other room." 

Sans hooked a thumb towards the kitchen entrance even though Blueberry and Patricia could not hear them, but he still found himself having to point it out.

"now ya use her name n' not  _ control subject _ ?" 

Red kept up his own flip-flopping defense, fickle feelings he had towards Patricia exhausted Sans to the point of wanting to ask Gaster to reconsider having him watch over her. It was only going to get worse, he could feel it. Stretch opened one eye towards them, the information being new to him.

"can always go back to your world, ya know," Sans tried to push Red down a peg with and divert from his own guilts, even with it not having the same effect that Gaster gave as he only got a scoff in return.

"could also eat de bitch's soul and turn ya ta dust, too. might not even needs it ta dust ya," Red threatened with a pulse of his eyes towards his other self, the challenge hard to tell if real or not. It still put Sans on the defense, but he was not going to get into this pissing contest.

Pointing towards the speaker, he changed the subject with a firm tone, "see these, they're 'round the whole place. if ya hear them going off then get ready for a fight cause it's the new intruder alarm. just make sure no one leaves this building, 'specially until we have the lockdown system installed."

Both other monsters stirred to hearing this, their attention at the little speaker and then back towards Sans. He was already shoving his hand in his pockets and heading over towards the kitchen since his task was done, but Red was quick to stop him with one more thing on his mind.

"what 'bout de maid," he asked sternly and Sans shook him off with a shrug to point towards him.

"ain'tcha in charge of watching her now? that's your call so just don't let 'em get her soul if any run into her," was all he replied with before making his way towards the kitchen once more. Red was not too happy with that reply, but he returned to his spot on the couch regardless and grumbled under his breath with Stretch letting out a soft  _ heh _ to the other’s dismay. 

In the kitchen, the cooking had gone relatively smooth, Patricia chopping some tomatoes and Blueberry giving constant glances over to her from his stove work. He was impatient and annoyed with having to let the meat cook properly so finally, he broke from his thoughts to hop from his stool, making his way over towards her. Before she could even realize what he was doing, she felt his gloved hands on hers, while she was holding the knife no less. Her grip tightened on it not to fling it in her startle, a questioning look over her shoulder at Blueberry. He had to get on his toes to set his jaw on her shoulder and see what she was doing.

"YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG! ALPHYS TAUGHT ME TO BEAT THE TOMATOES LIKE THEY ARE THE ENEMY!" 

In a split moment, he directed the knife down far too hard, embedding in the cutting board. It made her take her hand away so fast from the tomato that she yelped. He was way too close as well, feeling his breastplate digging into her back and his skull against her neck even though he was focused on trying to direct her hands. Just as fast as the moment started, she heard the swinging doors open. Terrified that she was about to be caught in a very embarrassing position, she realized Blueberry was no longer behind her-- now standing on his stool once again and stirring the ground beef as if nothing happened. - Was he not just behind her? - 

The ghost feeling remained on her, but he most certainly had moved a split second before the door opened. Her face was so blushed over right now she did not know how to react besides pulling at the knife. It was pretty firmly stuck in the cutting board making her whine under her breath. Sans wandered his way in and eyed the two cooking. 

"don't mind me, just checking up on the grub," Sans spoke up, not noticing the unusual tension, "gotta tell ya two something, too."

Blueberry turned as if only noticing his other self just now and Patricia still struggled to pull the knife from the cutting board, but she gave a wave of her other hand to indicate she was listening.

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW, THE COOKING IS GOING FANTASTIC THANKS TO MY PROWESS IN THE CULINARY ART," Blueberry boasted with glee, but before Sans could say anything, another equally loud voice came from the other room.

"IS SOMEONE COOKING? IT WAS THE GREAT PAPYRUS' TURN TO COOK TONIGHT SO WHOEVER HAS ALREADY BEGAN IS IN TROU--"

"oh heya, paps," Sans greeted just as Papyrus made his way into the kitchen, still outfitted in his doctor's coat and appearing as though he just arrived home. On perfect timing too since his announcement cut short from seeing what was going on. Narrowed sockets of his landed on Sans instead of the others as if blaming him for this and Sans only shrugged to show his innocence.

"OH, OTHER PAPS! I HAD FORGOTTEN YOU WERE GOING TO COOK TONIGHT. I HAD MISSED A COOKING LESSON WITH THE HUMAN SO SHE HAD OFFERED TO MAKE DINNER WITH ME," Blueberry said to clear up the situation just as Patricia was turning to see what was going on. There was not a whole lot she could say as she held the same reaction Sans did, a shrug of innocence due to the fact she did not know how the cooking scheduling was in this house yet.

"I WILL ALLOW THIS TO PASS JUST THIS ONCE! ARE YOU AT LEAST CRAFTING SOMETHING EDIBLE? IT IS BAD ENOUGH YOU REFUSE TO LEARN THE EXQUISITE ART OF PASTA-MAKING. " 

Papyrus made his way around to observe what they were doing which surprised her a bit as she really took in how similar he and Blueberry were in their cooking interest. Papyrus already pulled off his coat and dug around for his apron in the nearby cupboard. Before anything got started, Sans made a clear of his throat to get attention back on him. He did go in there to mention something and was glad Papyrus was here as well. 

Once the others were glancing his way he started by saying, "i already let the others know this, but i installed a new alarm system. nothing serious or anything. just a typical  _ go somewhere safe  _ heads up."

Papyrus and Blueberry both did not take the mention too seriously, already turning back to the food after swift nods, but Patricia perked up a little, far too curious of this addition and used it as an excuse to get out from between the two cooks. Sans noticed her coming his way, giving her his attention with a relaxed pose.

"Like a fire alarm? We can sure use one," she said in an attempt to joke with a smile to which Sans chuckled at and shook his head. He pointed up at the ceiling where a smoke detector was already installed as if to say that was already covered. Once he brought her attention back down to him he pushed the swinging door open just enough to point out towards the living room where the new speaker sat.

"nah, more like if anyone breaks in. you saw me working on it," he reminded her, "like i said, don't worry 'bout it," speaking casually, he let go of the door to continue, "if ya hear it then just find one of us and don't wander too far on yer own."  

Pouting slightly she eyed him closely before the realization hit her-- they lived in a mansion so, of course, there was security especially with the lack of any guards. Now she felt stupid at being skeptical to such a simple addition, slumping her shoulders in her overreaction.

"I'm surprised you've not had break-ins already without any security even though we're a bit far from the rest of town, but still," she said in lingering thought, never having asked just how long the skeletons lived in this place. The building itself had obviously been around before the monsters even got to the surface by how aged some sections were.

"ain't been here long 'nuff, but like i said, don't worry too much. we're tough monsters." 

He winked towards her to take away any of her worries, yet something did not settle right with her so she opened her mouth to question more only to be stopped with sudden noises behind her.

"PUT THAT FIRE OUT NOW," Papyrus snapped out while smoke formed rapidly in the room, that little smoke detector going off and thankfully no sprinklers installed. 

"MWEH HEH HEH!" 

Blueberry stood victoriously and held the skillet full of flames as if intentionally causing the scene. Sans already turned to exit the chaos of the kitchen and Patricia hurried over to the scene. After much panic, her and Papyrus managed to control the flame which left Blueberry pouting, unsure what he did wrong.

"AS MUCH AS UNDYNE WOULD OF APPROVED OF SUCH METHODS, I HAVE LEARNED IT IS NOT GOOD TO BURN DOWN THE KITCHEN," Papyrus tried to explain, Patricia left trying to salvage what ground beef she could from the charred skillet. Blueberry muttered in slight defense of the comment and still pouted with crossed arms while a nearby fan filtered out the light smoke. The others in the living room either did not care or were used to such things, not coming to investigate. Papyrus ignored the muttering of the smaller skeleton, getting back to the cooking and so, with a bit more supervision, the three of them managed to get through the process of crafting enough tacos for everyone. All in all, that was the most peaceful night she had so far in this house. 


	8. Human Study

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:**  
>  Sexual Themes, Light Somnophilia

It was colder that night, the weather shifting to the Fall with it reaching the last days of Summer, either that or they had finally started to turn on the air conditioning of this place. Regardless, the sensation was welcomed, swearing that she was always overheated and thought the place did not even have any sort of air system so finding the newly installed air conditioning clogged with lint only showed that they just did not use the thing. Cleaning enough of it to be functional in some of the rooms nearly took her whole night after the successful dinner. The investigation of if skeletons felt temperature would have to wait another day since, right now she was curled up in bed, relishing the cooler night. 

The pitch black room bothered her the first couple of nights, yet it was soothing now with nothing more than specks of light from her charging devices and the childish stars plastered on her ceiling. Being a few days in, she wondered if the stars were unique without them growing dull in the slightest, that and they happened to be blue and white instead of the classic green of normal glowing objects which almost felt like it was more of a light system rather than stickers stuck up there. These were thoughts that lulled her to sleep after the long day of housework. 

Dinner had gone so well even after realizing they were cooking with monster food all along. Besides that, it was unique to see all of the monsters she met so far in the same room while eating. Honestly, most of the monsters did not wander the house as much as she expected, guessing they must have jobs they attend to. Sans and Red were the most frequent that she got to interact with. Any time she made her way by the Lab she found her boss there working, but she avoided disturbing him or really doing a whole lot in there. As much as it fascinated her it also intimidated her, like she was going to spill chemicals that could kill her, so that left her with dealing with her new shadow most of the time. 

Thankfully, Red slept when she worked during the day, really only bothering her at extreme levels in the evening-- not to mention the incessant clawing at her door when she retired for the night. Getting a good look at it before she entered made her aware of how much he had ruined the wood. The reasoning behind such actions were lost to her as she was sure he could teleport like the others, or perhaps he could not since her only assumption came from how fast he moved without sound at certain times. Pushing her face into her pillow, deep slumber ended her further thoughts on the subject. This would be the best night sleep she had in a while and she was going to savor it. 

Soon after she was deep in her rest, a figure loomed by the bed near invisible in the darkness. The only way to even see this mysterious shape was the dull glow of red specks cut off by them settling in the lower half of empty sockets; the luminosity enough to reflect off a golden tooth. The shape became obvious as it was Red standing beside her bed. He made no sounds of his entry, the door remaining locked and he was simply silent, still as the rest of the room with his hands firmly in his pockets. The only change was his eye lights following her every motion, the dots expanding and shrinking at his observations. - Was this his first time to watch her sleep? Probably not as it was made apparent with this intrusion that the door never kept him from actually entering her room. 

Her form was nearly impossible to see in the darkness, the gleaming stars above not providing enough light, although he could see her just fine, his posture slackened as he simply stood there. A shift of his attention towards the closed door on hearing someone walk down the hallway before the noise faded away. He assumed it was one of the others heading off to bed-- in fact, it would be morning soon if the ticking clock on the wall was any indication. His change of inspection illuminating more of his face to show his conflicted expression, there was a reason he was in there; it was getting to him by this point, breaking his statue posture at an uneasy adjustment of his shoulders. He returned to gazing down at the sleeping woman, she had rolled over to lay on her back, sloppily sprawled out in the soundest slumber she had in days. The blanket pushed down enough to expose skin to his wandering stare, a flimsy tank top presenting enough for him to enjoy the display of her neck, her collarbone... the beginning of her  _ full breasts _ .

A roll of sweat went down his skull, not normally so affected by simple exposure, what caused his apprehensive disposition was more desires going through his mind. He craved to enclose his hands around that neck, bite into her shoulder, taste the heated flesh--  **feel her squirm** underneath him. Closing his sockets, he shook his head, those images were driving him wild ever since she arrived there the first morning. -  _ Ah, that day _ , the thought caused him to stare up at the ceiling in a reminiscent expression as he recalled the first time he got to touch her. 

The knocking disturbed him from his napping, never having anyone visit the place since he arrived, and, of course, he was not going to answer it while he watched Sans already at the door striking up a conversation with the one on the other side. He snorted at the play of mind games, not thinking much more of it until he realized just who was at the door. One of the patient souls had finally arrived and not only that, but it was the  **favored one** . The one he studied the files of far too closely. It did not take long for him to smell the fear on her even through the wall after Sans had teleported to the other side so he took this time to make his way over to the door himself, pressing his skull to it to overhear their conversation. 

Even her voice was making his bones clatter in anticipation, then after figuring he waited long enough, he opened it with a horror-inducing silence. Not even Sans had noticed it until he was already provoking the woman backward, right into the more dangerous monster. Red could see the surprise in his other self for only a split second before he felt her warm body against him and at first, he froze, instincts wanting to shove her away. Instead, he found himself grabbing for her, her flushed arms caught in his hands, the adorable sounds she made when his fingers  _ raked _ her flesh. 

Back to reality, a flash of irritation came across him that Stretch had healed away the scratches he made, the mere thought of another monster removing  **his** marks on something he wanted,  _ it enraged him _ . Luckily for her, he had recollected himself before getting lost in his need to take her as soon as possible. Besides, he could not get far anyhow with that freak Gaster blocking the way back to his world. He needed to be much more clever if he wanted to do something of that caliber. 

She shifted once again in the bed that brought him down from his memories. The way she clung to the pillow and drooled against it was intoxicating to him, and he barely knew what he was doing when he saw his hand extend out to her face. The temptation to seize her head making him hesitate, those deadly claw tips so close to her cheek she flinched at the tickle of the sensation. It was enough for him to change his motives, and alternatively, move a piece of her hair away, then he retreated. 

Now, his attention was placed on her chest, wanting to pull out her soul in an effort to check on it, but he knew that would awaken her, so he only focused. Being more sensitive to the scent of magic made him less able to see every aspect of a soul, unlike Sans; perhaps he should have stolen those glasses of his as he was sure they were infused with magic to only further that ability. As far as he was aware no other monsters really had such a sensitivity to souls, at least not where he was from. Before he got a good view of her soul, his mind wandered to his home. 

There was no way she could even survive there if he did manage to drag her back, after all, he stayed around this world for a reason beyond finding a way to break the resets. When that maniac child was not trying to befriend or kill everyone he had the monsters themselves to deal with, his brother's heart so much colder than it used to be... Sometimes he could barely tell if he really would kill him or not and that terrified him.

Shaking away those thoughts, he focused back on her soul, examining it with a pulse of his eyes. That smooth object within her core was clean of magic currently since the faint mark Grillby left faded away, now nothing more than the calming cyan color pure as the day he first saw her. Not checking it too often, he could have sworn whenever Blueberry had tried to spar with her it was darker, even a swirling with yellow; human souls were fickle at times. Speaking of that experience, he knew his other self would not kill her, but seeing her get injured so easily-- it infuriated him. He was annoyed that he became so enthralled with someone delicate and he himself could snuff out her life with a firm enough push of his thumb against her throat, holding the digit up just to visualize it with hovering his hand inches from her neck. The idea of her being so pathetic made him huff out and that noise caused her to stir again making him apprehensive of awakening her. 

He unfocused from her soul to dart his concentration at her features, her scrunched eyebrows for only a second before softening back into her dreamstate. She was an unpredictable sleeper as at times she could rest through heavy rackets, but different actions roused her with ease which enticed his curiosity. He never got close to her when he watched her doze, concerned about her waking up and forever being frightened of him even though he had already done other actions to make her scared. At least he kept to more playful antics. The night he said she did not matter though, that was unplanned and he regretted it which was brought on by his resentment of how Stretch behaved around her-- how right he was. 

Such thoughts made Red aware his inclination was excessive for someone not from his reality, but tonight he was bored and she was so vulnerable so he leaned down near her. His presence did not do more than have her nuzzle into her pillow, thus he experimented with sensations, a guilty pleasure of his as he parted his teeth just enough to blow hot air in her face. The smell of mustard made her nose scrunch on reflex and bury her face deeper into the pillow to hide it away from him. After that, he placed his hand on the headboard and the other over her to lean down further, lowering his skull within the junction of her neck and shoulder. With his teeth still parted, he made the action again, but a cooler breath this time. Now, a reaction came from her which pulsed his eyes, goosebumps formed on her skin and a gentle breath escaping from her into her pillow; her body reacting positively to the sensation. - How he could even breath against her he would only answer with the typical answer of 'magic'. 

He was having fun now though, growing bolder at his unfoldings, his eyelids lowered along with moving his mouth down, the flats of his dangerous teeth pressing to her neck still speckled with goosebumps. The feel of the rougher surface made her turn in a way to raise her chin, passively inviting him. Internally he was praising her for exposing more of herself for him, holding back the urge to nip at her. His arm across her lowered to his elbow as the bed sunk to his added weight. The closer he got the more he darted his observation to her face, paranoia about her waking up keeping him tense. He was stealing in every chance he got now, breathing in her scent while he pressed his jaw against her collarbone now, those dangerous points parting again and he dragged down, soon the fabric of her tank top hanging on them that he bit down on. The hem of her top cut with ease at the pressure against such sharp edges, dragging down to slice through the cloth to open more of her cleavage to him until he was satisfied with his work. Her skin exposed down to the top of her breast, modestly keeping the nipple covered. 

Those jagged teeth parting further and pulled from the material allowing a light of red to break the darkness, the tongue he most certainly had slipping from his maw. He had to be cautious as the slimy appendage put off a luminosity like his eye and was already drizzling down off the tip, a glob of his gel-like saliva landing on her revealed skin that made her shiver at the sudden sensation. It was cool like a minty jelly, even tingling in her nerves, nearly waking her, but lucky for him she rolled on her back once more instead. It still caused Red to freeze in his tracks, ready to vanish away before she had the chance to open her eyes, however, seconds passed before he felt comfortable enough to continue, his tongue pressing against where his saliva had fallen to lessen the feel of it. The sweet taste of her skin and tinge of salt in her sweat already making it hard for him to hold back. He would much prefer to be tasting her lips, but that was a risk. To her not awakening yet, he only continued his efforts, not even noticing he was gripping her blanket hard enough bury his claws into the fleece and her headboard was suffering a similar fate with the faint squeak of the wood under pressure. His tongue lathering from the top of her near exposed breast to her collarbone leaving a nice crimson trail. 

When she stirred again under him he had to break out of his trance, discerning he was pushing it far too much now, and regretfully he tore away, slipping his tongue back into his mouth to savor the flavors it brought with it. A restrained grunt emanating from him at his own inner conflict before he raised himself up, his self-control winning this night, but he could not leave evidence while he pulled her blanket to wipe across where he had left his saliva. That motion was finally pushing her to waken, regardless, it was not sudden as he had plenty of time to pull away and shove his hands back into his pockets before she shifted around with her eyes still shut. His playtime was up, and with that, he retreated back to just a dark figure in the room, red eyes vanishing and teleporting out of sight before she had the chance to open her eyes. 

This night was his closest to breaking, the adrenaline lingering while he appeared downstairs on the couch. The spot he claimed as his was where he laid as if he never left despite no one else down there, but the lights were still on and television going, a cooking channel he assumed one of the others must have been watching before going to bed. Searching for the remote he spent the rest of his late night watching his favorite violent movies, not yet time for him to retire. His jaw shifting at knowing how she tasted now. He will not forget nor will he be satisfied with just that.

Upstairs, Patricia woke only for a few minutes to curl back up on her side, barely registering the wet residue left on her or the tear in her tank top, far too tired to feel either. Not even when she awoke several hours later did the tear in her older tank top give off any signals of something being off, the signs of Red's actions dried off or unnoticed before her shower.

 

\--

 

Another morning of starting her work day to being greeted by nothing more than the slumbering beast on the couch and television blaring of something far too gory for her tastes as she picked the controller up to flip it off. Surprisingly it did not awaken Red, yet he had moved to there being motion near him in the form of grabbing the couch pillow at his side in a near-death grasp. She made a mental note not to get too close to him while he slept, an obvious clinger to the point the poor couch pillow was already torn up. Watching him sleep made her focus down on those dirty sneakers getting mud all over the couch, doing her best to ignore it for now. She did not feel like waking him and suffering through his moody snaps.

The rest of the morning was fairly quiet, taking her time to eat a little breakfast and wonder where the others were. She guessed it was time to branch out into the rest of the mansion and not just the two most active spots, taking care of her dishes to wander around the main floor in greater detail. When she poked her head into the area opposite from the living room she was at sudden awestruck to the fact it was an unused library. Nearly dropping her dusting wand to get a good view of how tall the bookshelves were, completely filled with literature. - How had she not known this existed?!

Further exploration did not provide much, except where the laundry was done that intimidated her a bit, unsure if she should be taking care of everyone's clothes or not. She should probably figure that out, leaving the question of why the laundry room was on the main level later before she wandered her way back into the living room where her sleeping bodyguard was still snoring away. Well, alright, she guessed she was just going to be left alone to clean this place which bored her more than she thought it would. Taking her cleaning to upstairs she was quick to notice the shower room's door was still not replaced. Luckily no one in there when she peeked her head in, yet she was not equipped to really fix it. She should really tell Sans about that, but before another thought, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs not too far from where she was down the hallway. They were hurried which perked her up to look over just in time to see Blueberry heading her way, apparently in an expression that he was looking for her. The instant he saw her he waved frantically, bounding his way over with those stars dancing in his sockets.

"HUMAN HUMAN, THERE YOU ARE! MWEH HEH HEH!" He announced just before she felt a near tackle into her and that signature tight hug he was all too fond of, the scrape of his skull against her was not getting any easier to handle. Part way through his usual greeting she noticed him freeze entirely. Not thinking much about it, she gave him a pat on the shoulder, no response beyond noticeable breaths escaping him.

"Blue, I only saw you just last night, what have you been up t--"

"Who have you been around," came Blueberry's voice in a much lower octave that sent a chill through her. She wanted to pull away but there was no give in his hug to the point she could not even move his shorter stature, the monster much stronger than he looked. What he asked caught her completely off guard, trying to recall her whole night and morning for him.

"Er, since waking up, just you unless you count Red sleeping on the couch-- uhm, why," she answered honestly, Blueberry remained where he was for a long minute before he finally eased up, turning his head to look up at her with his expression back to his overly happy self. She would be lying to herself is she was not a little unsettled by that, but just as fast as his mood shifted he released her then began to bounce impatiently on his heels.

"WE MUST PREPARE LUNCH, HUMAN! WE JUST GOT BACK HOME FROM A VERY DIFFICULT MISSION SO MAKING SURE TO RE-ENERGIZE IS IMPORTANT! MWEH HEH HEH," was all he said, ignoring her question before he was already pulling her along towards the staircase, a startled gasp coming from her.

"Why did you ask who I've been around? Someone break in already," she casually inquired, curiosity getting the best of her once they arrived at the main floor on the way to the kitchen. She used her free hand to rub her neck where she had a tingling sensation all morning. Red perked up from his pacing to stare at them in a searching manner as if he had been looking for her but froze to hearing her question.

"da fuck is goin' on he--" Red started, yet Blueberry urged her to continue to the kitchen by pushing her back towards the doors.

"GO GET THE KITCHEN READY, HUMAN! I MUST GO GRAB SOMETHING FIRST," Blueberry proposed in an upbeat smile, seemingly ignoring both the question and Red's intrusion he interrupted. Not thinking much of it, she made her way into the kitchen. The edgier skeleton was far too curious about what was happening as he started to follow only to be body blocked by the shorter one, a neutral expression on his face.

"outta my way, pipsqueak," Red snarled impatiently to only have Blueberry take a step towards him which was enough to gain his attention.

"It is not nice to be touching the human without her knowledge," Blueberry lectured in an eerie tone that even shook Red momentarily, his eye lights shrinking at realizing immediately what this was about. He scoffed out at the accusation, raising his shoulders to be more threatening with his height advantage.

"as if i fuckin' care, ya midget. first, i can'ts use magic on hers den ya go blabbin' i can't touch her eithers. how 'bout fuck yous, dats my response ta yer bullshit."

Red was teeming now with violence before he took a long breath to calm himself, slouching back to pick at his teeth; he was satisfied with his speech. There was no immediate retaliation from Blueberry, the shorter skeleton only gained a flash of red in those blue pricks of light, but then they lit back up instantaneous enough to cause Red to jump.

There were a long few seconds of silence and then Blueberry turned without another word to head back into the kitchen. At first, the withdrawal confused Red, but he saw it as a victory, announcing a hearty 'HAH' on the shorter skeleton's exit, which inadvertently caused him to forget his own pursuit of questions. With that, he returned to his spot on the couch, an annoyed huff on his breath and Blueberry happily joined Patricia in the preparation in the kitchen.

 

\--

 

"Human Study Log: 702-4B, I have resumed my observations of human interactions upon interesting occurrences during Sans' own trials on his control subject within an environment containing versions of himself from alternate realities. Information on his work is yet to be yielded to me at this interval. At first, this was merely an annoyance as well as a breach in our security that I deemed not worth the chances, expecting to have to dispose of his control subject through accidental means. However, unexpected interactions have arisen to prompt the recount of an unfinished study of mine. This being Human Study Log: 702, which this recording will be a continuation of that. In review, previous recordings contain relations between human and monster. Refer to those previous documentation for further information. 

Now, following that I was forbidden to run my own analyses of examining how a human and monster could bond, I found the loophole that I may merely observe what occurs within my own living space. For the potential alternative to consolidating the soul of both, it appears the opportunity to do so consequently has fallen into my lap. I will be renaming Sans' control subject to P-04 considering she was the fourth of five patient souls to be trialed in his studies. I am uncertain of his specific goals for this human, but no matter. During the downtime of the reality rips I will conduct these practices to pass the time.

First, the dilemma of how both UFSans3205 and USSans4032 have developed an attachment to P-04 in such a brief timespan. At first I may have suspected them being soulmates, but there has existed no indication of the stereotypical concentrated influence linking their souls. Before-mentioned effects would have previously occurred, so there is no feasibility of such. I had considered Sans himself to be following this corresponding behavior, yet he is obscured from my observations, even going as far as blacking out my cameras from his lab-- far too secretive for his own good. This would all be less strenuous if he were the one to bond with P-04 considering he is not expendable or unreliable to remain here. 

P-04 has shown fickle feelings towards all subjects within the household. The fact she remains here eludes me entirely while showing an obvious reluctance to simply do her job. This is only a benefit to us as her strange behaviour keeps her here thus far, though limiting her communication with the outside needs to be implemented. As far as her emotional state towards each other subject goes, she has shown dismay after USSans4032’s confession of  _ ‘flirting' _ , yet it has somehow not hindered their  _ ‘friendship’ _ by much proving her to not be all that observant. On the other hand, interactions with UFSans3205 show subtle desires to mate on both sides yet instead they express themselves through frustration at one another. However, their similarities hold promise of a stronger bond if UFSans3205 can control himself-- which is doubtful. P-04 additionally shows intriguing interest in monsters of the skeleton variety unlike most humans which does speed up the process considerably. Again, my observations between her and Sans has been completely obscured due to most of their interactions occurring in his Lab. Additionally, any bond potential with Papyrus or USPapyrus4032 has proven null and I, myself, will not be interacting with P-04 unless absolutely necessary.

Regardless, it has become apparent that USSans4032 is growing conscious of UFSans3205's visits to P-04's bedroom, which occurs approximately every night. Such exploits do nothing further than postponing the inevitable, furthermore, I am in no place to estimate after acknowledging UF3205's culture. - Note to revisit UF305 at a later date to salvage more data. - If it becomes out of hand I will dispose of P-04 by permitting UFSans3205 return to UF3205 with her to absolve the entire project. They do not possess the knowledge or an alternate variant of myself to be able to return. Precautions aside, in normal circumstances of rivalry for a mate between two monsters they will naturally try to outperform one another, but that is not what is transpiring. USSans4032 is remaining highly secretive, yet aware, whereas UFSans3205 struggles to conceal his intention unsuccessfully and is completely ignorant.

I would prefer to allow aforementioned to play out, but it appears I have a visitor that will be a deterrent of activity between USSans4032 and P-04," Gaster finished off his lengthy narrative with the click of his recorder at hand and slipping the device in his coat. With a fluid motion, he pressed a button on the console to open the nearby door where Stretch was waiting to come in, unaware of the recording log being done. Gaster took no hesitation to greet him, "Ah, USPapyrus4032, how nice of you to visit, what is it you  _ need _ ?"

"a request," Stretch yawned out the words, meandering his way into the room to stand close enough to the screens to watch over them lazily. He cared very little of what went on, but still found himself glimpsing over the cooking going on in the kitchen on one of the monitors. Gaster never moved from his spot, only drawing a hand in front of Stretch expectantly.

"No smoking in my lab, USPapyrus4032," Gaster asserted, flexing his hand once again indicating to have Stretch hand over the cigarette hanging from his teeth. A deep exhalation of smoke came from the slumped monster before he removed it to press the burning end right into Gaster's fingers. No reaction whatsoever came from him as he only curled his digits with a flick of purple energy, the cigarette vanishing from sight with nothing more than fresh ashes falling. "Now, what do you require?"

"my bro and i are goin' back to our world to check up on things." 

Stretch stirred uneasily without the stimulation of the smoke but calmed soon into his comfortable posture once more shortly after. The request did not phase Gaster, slipping his hands behind his back while he kept his concentration on the monitors.

"Leaving us so soon,” Gaster’s smile curled with the teasing question, but then a demeanor of professionalism coated him. “When would you like to depart?"

"next portal out," Stretch said with a shrug, turning on his heel to already begin heading towards the exit. The air between the two was rather stale with neither bothering to small talk or socialize beyond what needed to be said. Stretch had said what he needed to and knew that Gaster would not deny it.

"Eight days is when I can afford the next controllable tear with the current one still processing," Gaster disclosed and opened the door once more for Stretch as the other waved his hand in confirmation. It was enough for him and he was not sticking around to give in to the possible conversation, he knew better around this monster. 

Soon, Gaster was left alone once again to hum to himself in his uniform practice, producing a different recorder from his pocket than the one before. 

"Alternate Reality Log - 482: Continue concentrating toward worlds amidst similarities to US4032 and UF3205 in position to obtain increased assistance." 

With that record, he clicked the stop button, returning to the console to resume his obligation.

 

\--

 

"PATRICIA, YOU MUST WORK ON YOUR PHYSICAL ENDURANCE," came the all too familiar voice of Papyrus while he eyed Patricia laid out on the couch absolutely exhausted. He just arrived home from work, his coat slung over one arm while he rolled up his sleeves to begin unwinding for the evening himself.

Patricia just groaned with distress, turning over even hurt while she grumbled, "Running a hundred laps around the entire estate is not a minimal work-out!" 

She folded her aching legs close to herself to which she got a hearty chuckle from the opposite side of the sofa. 

Red lounged there, savoring her despair wholly, "whatta fuckin' pussy."

"LANGUAGE, RED, YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK WITH YOUR INACTIVITY BEING WORSE THAN EVEN SANS," Papyrus denoted in defense of Patricia, but she was far too occupied curling farther up on the couch to avoid the soreness in her calves and sweat drenching her. - At least she had the heed to outfit in some workout attire. - Red bore a prolonged stare at the lofty skeleton as if trying to register something in what he said. 

"is dat 'pose ta be a fuckin' insult? i'm doin' da job dat freak gave me," he retorted with an offended sigh, swinging his legs to spread out on the couch almost touching Patricia's feet, the motion making her curl up tighter with a childish whine. At least she had the common decency to take her shoes off.

"DO NOT SPEAK SO ILL OF MY FATHER, NOW IF YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR INCESSANT COMPLAINING I WILL BE MAKING DINNER, SO WHERE ARE THE OTHERS," Papyrus announced, going to put his jacket on a nearby coat rack, no one responding right away to the question, but Patricia stirred to peek out from her spot. Questions lingered on the tip of her tongue that she left be for now, so instead she would answer him with Red refusing to.

"Uhm, Blueberry left to talk to Stretch upstairs and I've not seen anyone else. I can probably assume Sans is in his lab though," she explained to the best of her familiarity, figuring this was enough time of wallowing around and so she sat up on the couch properly in moderate motions. She eyed Red's sneakers dirtying the formerly clean couch, enough of her tolerance gone to allow her to not care about retaliation, so she shoved his feet off the cushion. Papyrus did not police the interaction and used the time to head into the kitchen just as Red darted his attention at Patricia while she was straightening her shoulders at her triumphant deeds which he did not like one bit.

"fuckin' touch me again, bitch, i dares ya," he snapped at her with malicious intent, his constant barrages of attitude was starting to grow dull on her as she deadpanned at him and crossed her arms. A glaring competition sprout between them, one that had Red growing increasingly puffed by the second with his shoulders raising and his deep growl increasing in volume. She swore he really did act like a cat and rolled her eyes to stare away from him.

"I've had to clean this couch off more times than I can count now because you don't know how to take your shoes off," she finally disrupted the silence to complain at him, not even caring he was scooting closer to her until he was nearly towering beside her-- that was when she finally began to shrink. His snarling sneer curled into a smirk at his own plans boiling to mind, she did not like the way he was ogling her one bit.

"yous da maid, ain'tcha? den do your fuckin' job." 

At that remark, Red raised his feet to land on the coffee table, crossing them arrogantly which she did not understand at first. Discerning she was not getting the hint, he pointed towards his shoes to finally make her comprehend what he meant.

Immediately, she shook her head and went to stand up while arguing against his attempt, "I am not cleaning your shoes for you, you're a grown ass man-- at least I hope you’re a grown ass man. I honestly don't know how old you guys are, but by this point some of you are like children!" 

She took a deep breath after that fast spoken rant, Red just staring at her as if he just heard her talk another language.

"i ain't wearin' no stripe shirt, ya stupid bitch," was his answer which was not helping her understand one bit while she thought maybe she should just leave this situation. - Yeah that was a good idea. Perhaps telling Sans dinner is ready would be a better use of time. - Shaking her head at herself, she stepped over Red's legs-- her first mistake on her way out. 

In one swift motion, Red simply swept his legs to the side to promptly trip her. The resounding thud of her smacking into the floor was enough for Papyrus to hear, making his way out of the kitchen just as the laughter from Red erupted out. Patricia was on the floor, fortunately with nothing more than some sore elbows, after an ungraceful series of noises and movements.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, PATRICIA? I WAS GONE FOR NOT EVEN FIVE MINUTES AND YOU ARE ALREADY BEING INJURED... AGAIN," Papyrus scolded more than worried by this point, narrowing his sockets towards Red in accusation who shrugged at his self-proclaimed innocence.

"don't lookit me, ain't my fault da hussy can't walks straight," he snickered through his laughter, watching her push up from the floor to give a wave at Papyrus that she was alright. She was barely holding back any sort of yelling she wanted to direct at Red, embarrassment burning her cheeks from such a fall.

"WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY," Papyrus groaned, hesitating to head back into the kitchen, but already seeing Patricia shuffling off towards the stairs with nothing more than sour mutters on her breath. Her energy was spent and she was not going to indulge the edgy skeleton further.

"sure as fuck was," Red asserted, forcing himself from the sofa to stalk after her in a casual manner. She was unaware of him shadowing her all the way down to the Lab when she peeped in to see Sans sleeping on that familiar white couch on the other end of the room, almost not seeing him at first glance. It felt strange to be waking her boss for dinner, but she swallowed her nerves to make her way over, awkwardly standing beside where he napped.

"Sans," she spoke meekly, afraid of waking him up despite that being her intention. Unfortunately for her, he did not even budge, continuing to nap away while she slumped her shoulders at the dilemma-- she always disliked waking up others. Maybe waiting until Papyrus came down to do this himself was a better option.

"here, ya gots ta do dis," Red suddenly spoke from behind her, already pushing her aside that she was so startled by her silent scream was caught in her throat. He had not noticed scaring her while he made his way over to rear back his leg and full force kick the couch cushion just under Sans. The bellowing laughter of Red was cut off by him vanishing from sight in a soft click to put the blame of the kick entirely on her. 

The events after the rude awakening happened almost faster than she could process. Sans startled awake in the same moment, jolting up from his nap to dart a blazing blue eye flicking with yellow around the room in alert. A crushing pressure just barely squeezed her chest to steal her breath away before he realized it was her, the white pricks of light returning in his sockets as fast as his eyes had opened. That release of pressure was enough to cause her to stumble forward, entirely confused what had just happened, but a rush of embarrassment lighting up her nerves covered the chill she got from the touch of magic.

"I swear that wasn't me," she cried out, but Sans appeared more upset at himself for using a split second of magic than the rude awakening he received. Luckily for him, it looked to have gone unnoticed by her.

"oh, heya, sorry 'bout that," he tried to brush off with a huff under his breath, pushing himself up to sit and eyeing her curiously, "huh, someone else was here?" 

He gave a look around the Lab only seeing her there which she cursed internally about, she would have to get back at Red for that. In her distressed thoughts, she blinked at seeing Sans already standing up to shuffle his way over to her, rubbing his socket in his just woken state. 

"R-red was the one that woke you but he uh-- honestly I don't know what you guys do... poof away? Teleport? Is there a list of magical abilities I have to keep track of here?" 

She tried to laugh off what had happened, stumbling over herself by awkwardly crossing and uncrossing her arms before just biting her lower lip, refusing to look up at him-- her face burning red. - Why was she feeling so much more nervous than normal around Sans?

"prolly better not to know," he yawned out while eyeing her up and down to make sure he had not done any harm to her after his wake up. After seeing she was only startled he continued, "what brings ya down here?"

Regaining her focus she did her best to remember why she was down here, finally stuttering out, "O-oh uh, dinner soon, Papyrus just got home and was making it. Thought I'd come down here to tell you." 

She attempted to calm down, but she realized he was looking her up and down a bit more intently. All she could think about is that he could see how nervous she was which only made her more jittery. Now, she became more aware of the rug burns on her elbows from her fall earlier, rubbing at them absently.

"you a'right? you don't look so well and hadn't seen ya all day," he observed, glancing over her attire and the way she slumped in her posture from the soreness in her legs, but she attempted to shrug it off with a wave of her hand and nervous laughter. She had completely forgotten that she was an absolute mess right now in that regard.

"Blue had me running a hundred laps around this place most of the day after lunch, I swear I don't understand the energy he has in such a small body," she bemoaned, probably too much-- right in front of her boss, the thought of that made her suddenly fluster, "I... I mean after I did my job cleaning and such of course, I wasn't slacking off or anything." 

A nervous laugh escaped her after the comment she added, waving her hands innocently towards him. He grew a mischievous intent in his eyes lights to tease her. He was becoming far more aware of how she was acting around him. - Was she developing a crush?

Sans hummed expectantly, stepping closer much like a manager about to scold an employee getting her to curse in her head while he sternly said, "well, exercising ain't cleaning, perhaps i should reconsider the lace once more as recompense." 

Crossing his arms he began to nod, agreeing with himself while she caught on he was just messing with her by this point.

"No, we said no more talk of the lace, and hey, I've done a great job considering how much of a slob some of you are," she pouted in retaliation, not even realizing she just insulted him. The sensation of fingertips at her lower back made her jump from further thought. Sans was casually leading her to walk with him standing well within her personal space, the gesture alone making her grow flustered again.

"already sounding like my bro, may as well go clean up before dinner to avoid double the scolding, you look like you need it too so, join me," he pointed out bluntly which she was about to feel offended by, but remembering she was still covered in sweat from all the running. This made her hang her head in defeat to agreeing with him.

"You know if you're made of magic couldn't you just clean yourself up," she inquired, making most of their walk upstairs. She passively noted he kept his hand behind her which was distracting her far too much even to the point she did not realize they were already going upstairs having passed the main floor. - How did the others not even notice them?

"ain't really how it works, lady, thought you were knowledged in anatomy," he grinned with his accusation which caused her to puff a cheek to the mild strike at her pride. She crossed her arms tightly to try to think of how to respond to that.

"Maybe if there were actual monster anatomy classes to take then I would know more. Some of you vary so much there must be different sections for almost every monster-- not even you skeletons are alike," she tried to explain which got her a thoughtful look in return. He directed her towards the shower room which had her hesitate for a moment, but figure she would just wash her hands and face at most before dinner.

"i could help you if ya like, think of it as a job paid college course," he advised, pulling his lab coat off and tossing it onto one of the benches nearby, then headed over to the sinks. There were quite a bit of scuff marks and stains on his hands from his work with equipment in the Lab.

"Send me to a college course for being a maid? Would it be at the Ebott University or something," she sarcastically challenged, particularly curious now while she headed over to begin washing her hands as they conversed. Sans shook his head though, scrubbing at some sort of chemical staining his phalanges that he was working with earlier that day.

"nah, i'd teach ya monster stuff here, in the lab. it's a pretty easy subject," he propositioned, causing her to second guess what he was volunteering. Biting down on her lip she had a hard time finding any reason not to take such a deal before shrugging as she got done with washing her hands.

"Eh, why not? You sure that won't interrupt whatever it is you're working on though," she made sure to ask, taking the time of waiting for his response to dip down and splash water on her face. A lingering sigh came from her at the wonderful sensation, not realizing Sans watching her closely, observing her a bit too close.

"being my own boss has its benefits, don't worry 'bout that," he gave with a shrug, already shuffling off near the dressing portion of the shower room.

"Must be nice to work whenever you want and however long you want," she sang the words with envy although not realizing she already got to do that. She reached for a towel to dry her face and turned back towards Sans. Lowering it from her face she instantly began to flare into a blush upon seeing a very bare ribcage across from her, her breath choking so hard she let out a series of coughs. There was a very faint white glow blocked by the sternum that she could not make out that had her stare lingering. Sans was just changing his shirt while he gave her a confused expression at her sudden dismay, slowly realizing what she was reacting to with an amused chuckle.

"i 'spose our first lesson could be to note some monsters ain't too shy since we're entirely made of magic so seeing my ribcage is no different than seeing my arm," he said far too casually, but on seeing her curious look towards the white glow, he pulled his new shirt on a bit quicker. “though, seeing our soul is a whole other matter. monsters can show theirs easier, yet it is considered intimate outside of battle.”

She quickly looked away at his last words, her face suddenly bright red in a different kind of embarrassment over her curiosity. There was a lot she was going to need to learn at this point that left her with many more questions she was not brave enough to ask just yet, her towel raising back over her face with the thoughts. Her mind was telling her how dumb she was when she spent part of her college classes studying the skeletal structure in great detail so seeing one animated should not fluster her. - Perhaps the personality attached to it had something to do with her mixed feelings.

"S-sorry, just not used to remembering that you're a walking skeleton. None of you really wear fewer clothes," she tried to explain herself, but was just getting more noises of amusement from Sans making his way back towards her. She could not even look at him at this point, only viewing his pink slippers he slipped on from the bottom of her towel.

"and you're a skeleton wearing flesh to me, so i'd say we're 'bout even," he pointed out, making sure to give her a nice poke in the shoulder just to prove his side of the argument that she jumped at, dropping the towel. It really took her far too long to realize that it must be weird for him too, the acknowledgement taking over while she covered her face to try to reduce the anxiety of it.

"Okay okay, you're right, flesh is probably far weirder than skeletons any day," she admitted, suddenly feeling bony digits pulling her hands away from her face. - When had he gotten so close to her? - She was now staring slightly down at Sans with his grin higher than ever which was not helping her blushing until he broke her train of thoughts by prodding right at the side of her face in the least sensual way she could imagine. He was just mocking her at this point to get her to lighten up.

"interesting is a better word and soft," he lowered his voice to those words which left her speechless, her brain taking that all kinds of out of context while he pulled away to begin walking his way out from the still broken shower room door. She intensely began to rub her cheeks and followed behind him with a pout.

"T-that's not exactly h... h-how I would word that," she tried to tell him, but he shrugged without looking back at her while they headed down the hallway. 

"trust me, if i used more proper wording you may have passed out from all that blood rushing to your face... now there is something weird to think about," he said far too casually which left her frozen where she stood. - What the fuck was that supposed to mean? - She could not even ask him while they already got to the living room where the others were chatting with one another. Blueberry was the first to notice her as usual, bounding his way over with his energetic expression easing her away from her embarrassments with Sans.

“HUMAN HUMAN! THERE YOU ARE, I ALMOST HAD TO COME FIND YOU,” Blueberry huffed, already grabbing for her hand to pull her away from Sans’ side. The other skeleton simply shrugged and headed his way towards the kitchen where Papyrus was cooking up dinner. Just out of both of their views, Blueberry watched Sans leave a little too closely before focusing back on Patricia.

“I think I’m taking a break from cooking tonight, Blue,” she admitted quietly, but promptly got Blueberry shaking his head at her.

“DO NOT FRET, HUMAN, I HAVE SOMETHING FAR BETTER PLANNED FOR US! MWEH HEH!”

With those words she already felt her arm being pulled along as Blueberry began to head towards the stairs only to be stopped by Stretch standing there leaning against the railing. She had not even seen him move from his lounging on the couch. It made her uneasy every time he moved around in such a manner.

“‘ey bro, mind if I tag along,” Stretch yawned out in question, eyeing the two lazily. For a moment, Blueberry had a look of consideration before he pouted towards his brother.

“HRMPH, IT IS NOT PROPER TO DO THIS WITH MORE THAN TWO, BUT YOU MAY JOIN US BECAUSE YOU ARE MY BROTHER AS LONG AS YOU PUT OUT YOUR CIGARETTE,” Blueberry said huffily and used his free hand to give a scolding point of his finger. Stretch let out a soft ‘heh' and shrugged as if agreeing to the terms. With that, he put out his cigarette on the railing that earned him a stern glare from Patricia before curiosity turned her back towards Blueberry.

“Where are we going, Blue,” Patricia could not help but question, too curious what was going on as they reached out of earshot of the others. The normally nosy Red was conveniently asleep in his usual spot while Papyrus and Sans were in the kitchen.  

“DO YOU NOT REMEMBER? I TOLD YOU I HAD BEEN STUDYING ON THE ART OF FLIRTING FROM A HANDY GUIDE SO IT IS TIME FOR OUR DATE!”

Both Patricia and Stretch paused at the mention, although the surprise wore off quickly with the lanky skeleton, soon returning to his indifferent facade. Patricia, however, was not letting this go while she dug in her heels a bit at the top of the steps to cause Blueberry to look back at her and Stretch to merely stand idly beside her.

“D-date?! I… y-you didn’t ask me or or--"

She nervously looked over at the taller skeleton, afraid of his colder personality turning sour at this information. He appeared completely unfazed though, only shrugging at her before a tug at her wrist brought her attention back towards Blueberry staring at her intently.

“WE HAVE PASSED THAT STEP LONG AGO, HUMAN,” Blue gave her a searching glance that faltered slightly. “WERE YOU… having second thoughts?”

“That’s… t-that’s not it, I just--”

“sans, why dontcha go get dressed for your date and i’ll help patricia get ready. you two forgot your dating clothes didn’tcha?”

The sudden intervention of Stretch actually sent a wave of relief through Patricia, looking up to him as he only gave a subtle acknowledgement to the gesture. Before anything else could be said, Blueberry released her hand and gave a shocked expression.

“IS THAT WHY YOU WERE HESITANT, HUMAN? YOU WISHED TO GET READY FIRST? DO NOT TAKE TOO LONG AND SIMPLY MEET BACK HERE ONCE YOU ARE DONE,” Blueberry demanded as if almost blaming her for this distraction when he wiggled a finger her direction. She wanted to say more, but before she could she felt herself being shoved by Stretch down the hall towards her bedroom.

“dontcha worry, bro, i’ll help her out,” Stretch mentioned far too casually as she tried to turn to say something to Blueberry, but was met with a shake of Stretch’s head for her not to. Unable to understand what was going on, she figured she would go along with this for now, walking into her bedroom after flicking the light on. Worry did not catch up to her until she heard the click of the door shut which caused her to turn back to seeing Stretch slumping further into his posture with a long sigh.

“You’re not going to scold me or something for y-your little brother wanting to date me, are you,” she asked meekly, spilling her mind before even thinking. Stretch gave her an odd look, digging his hands into his hoodie pockets.

“heh, he’s the older bro, but nah that ain’t what i’m doin’,” he replied with a yawn following as he walked over to sit on the edge of her bed. His intentions were completely eluding her by this point, awkwardly looking around her room before appearing unsure of what to even do.

“Huh, older-- but, then w-what are you doing?”

As Stretch sat there, his eyes nearly closed in his lazy slump before he looked up at her with only one of the sockets, “eh, waitin’ on ya to get dressed? he pry won’t be able to wait too long so may wanna hurry.”

This made absolutely no sense to her, making her feel even more unsure what to do. After a glance down at her attire and then towards her closet she cleared her throat.

“Shouldn’t you… leave, so I can get dressed,” she quietly asked, really trying not to remember he had already seen her naked once. The comment perked him back up, but he only shrugged once more, shutting both eyes after.

“nah, I ain’t lookin’. need to talk while you do that tho’.”

“Talk,” she asked curiously, really uneasy about getting dressed in front of this monster, but she began to head towards her closet to at least pick something out, “Thought you weren’t going to give me the ‘dating my sibling’ talk?”

“sorta pointless to do so now with him bein’ so fixated,” his voice grew gravely with exhaustion, “we’re not stayin’ here so I just need you to be aware this is temporary.”

Pulling out one of her slim dresses, she peeked from the closet, “Don’t tell me you’re going to say you’re not from this reality either. Plus, it feels kind of odd going on a date when I barely know him.”

“doesn’t matter to me. just don’t get attached, that’s it. play along, say no, or do whatever. no skin off my bones.”

“But I’m not even the one tha--"

Before she could even finish her statement, Stretch was stood up and heading his way over to the door. He gave her a glance as if asking her not to press the matter more that made her bite on the inside of her cheek lightly. Holding the dress she picked out close to her, he eyed it for a moment and then back up to her face.

“my best suggestion, go ‘long with it and have fun, I guess. ain’t too often he gets to enjoy times like this,” Stretch gave a long stare at the door in front of him, “‘sides, he’ll like that dress.”

When she stared down at the dress she held, she realized it was a soft blue color. The sound of the door closing again got her attention, seeing Stretch not in the room anymore. - What he said gave her a lot to think about though, reconsidering her reluctance to go on this unexpected date.


	9. Dating Start! (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ **Author's Note:** In my revision I did of Chapters 1-7, I wanted to make note that there was one major change for anyone who read those before the edits. The dinner scene at the very end of Chapter 6 was removed, so in the present time, the Reader and Gaster have not met yet.
> 
> Also, for the sake of grammar, I will be giving the Reader a name. I tried to keep it going with only referring to her as 'the maid' or Y/N, but it's becoming difficult to write in this format so from now on the Reader's name will be Patricia. This is in reference to her having a Patient soul.
> 
> Finally, **thank you** for all the feedback and support given to this story, it means a lot! Sorry if I don't reply to every comment! I try to keep my replies only to questions you all may have and if you want more interaction with me then head on over to my Tumblr: [moldorng.tumblr.com](https://moldorng.tumblr.com/). Now, I'll stop rambling and get on with the story!]

“Fascinating timing, my dear. When can you arrive?”

Gaster tapped a finger against the control panel he stood at, a cellphone up against the side of his skull while he idly held a conversation. That void stretched smile of his was higher than ever, even his good eye gleaming with anticipation. Quite an unusual side of him as the voice on the other end of the phone sparked up.

“ _ Doctorrr _ , do you really need me working right after I finally got to stretch my legs? -  _ So mean _ ,” a bubbly female’s voice spoke from the phone. A soft gurgling noise soon followed that sounded like someone blowing bubbles under the surface of water.

“It is your own fault for contacting me first,” Gaster mused in a teasing manner, the conversation absorbing him enough to take his eyes away from the monitor briefly. “I swear the convenience of this circumstance is so extraordinary I would deduce magic at play.”

“If by magic, you mean my goodie behavior! You were so right to let me take the fall and they didn’t even keep me locked up for more than a few years. - If it had been you then you never woulda been outside again,  _ hrmph _ .”

“Yes yes, I will procure you something pretty if you require compensation. First, I demand your assistance,” Gaster gave an indifference with his tone, returning to the more professional manner. Those sharp eyes of his scanning the monitors while he watched Patricia exiting her bedroom dressed in that slim blue dress. He guessed she made her choice of going on her date with Blueberry.

“Always needing assistance with this and that,  _ pfft _ ,” the female voice gave whiny huffs through the receiver, “I do hope you know they told me I’m not allowed near any humans for quite some time though-- buncha worrywarts.”

Gaster paid the childish attitude no mind with switching the phone to the other side of his head with one of his floating hands. “We’ll work around t-t-that, the only human here is not in the recor--"

“Eeee, you have a human there?! I’ll be there tomorrow!”  _ Click! _

Gaster pulled the cell phone away while letting out a long sigh, the conversation apparently ended. He muttered under his breath as he slipped the phone into his coat pocket.

“She never changes, still has gelatin for brains…  _ hehss-s-heh _ ,” he coughed after his attempted laughter, a few sputters of static escaping him before he gave a glance back to what was going on In the rest of the house. “Now, shall we observe how this date turns out,” Gaster monologues to himself while settling his hands behind him and straightening his back. His attention followed the cameras on Patricia as she made her way to meet back up with Blueberry. “Riveting choice, P-04.”

 

**\--Meanwhile--**

 

“Blue?”

Patricia timidly peeked up and down the hallway after not finding Blueberry near the top of the stairs where she left him. Stretch was also not in sight which caused her to begin to worry. She fidgeted, pulling at the edge of the slim dress she wore, only just realizing how short it was. Trying to compensate for the scandalous dress, she kept her makeup light and hair in a modest bun. After all, she did not want to give the wrong impression as she settled in her mind this would be a  _ friend date _ . - Surely that was what Stretch meant by just enjoying it,  _ right _ ? 

“Bluuuue? Where’d you go,” she continued to call out in a soft voice, not wanting to alert the others downstairs to what was going on. She was not sure why she wanted to keep this from them, but her gut was telling her that at least Red would not like what was going on. This left her thinking briefly about Sans, a sudden regret silencing her. Before she could pinpoint the tightness in her chest, she heard a door slam open down the hallway not far from where she stood.

“MWEH HEH! HUMAN, ARE YOU FINALLY READY?”

It was Blueberry while he held open one of the bedroom doors, the sudden entrance having Patricia clutching her chest from the scare.

“Geesh, don’t you start scaring me too, Blue,” she groaned, collecting herself before she began to look him over. No longer dressed in his gray and blue armor, now he stood there proudly in something she would more see a teenage boy wearing outside to play. A simple t-shirt with the word  _ Awesome _ printed on it and in blue sharpie just below it the word  _ Guy _ written. That was not all while he wore some flashy light blue gym shorts and equally fitting sneakers to tie it together. This was the most exposed bone she had seen from Blue which was not as impactful as it once would have been to her previously. She was beginning to be less surprised seeing walking skeletons now. What finished his look off was a blue baseball hat and some arguably stylish shades that concerned her that he would wear while indoors and so late in the evening.

“WELL, HUMAN? I LOOK AWESOME DON’T YOU THINK,” Blueberry gloated, giving a valiant pose with his newly acquired outfit. There was no way she could hold back the genuine smile before she let a wholesome snort escape. “AH YES, I CAN SEE YOU ARE SO SMITTEN BY MY APPEAL THAT YOU ARE OVERCOME WITH JOY!”

The exchange was only increasingly delightful by the moment as she was already feeling an ease of pressure from this awkward date. She should have expected that since Blueberry had that effect on a situation. Even after he kissed her, he managed to coax her back into feeling comfortable again in such little time. Perhaps this date was not going to be bad at all.

“You do clean up nice,” she complemented through her smile which caught Blueberry off guard. His blue eye lights grew in size before he began to gain the same color across his face that he quickly dove his head to the side to hide. He began to pout in a minor fluster which she did not expect to see, yet it prompted her to let off a giggle. After she took a breath, she glanced around, noticing Stretch still not around. “Is your brother not going to join us after all?”

That blue faded from Blueberry’s face and he turned to look back up to her. He rubbed his chin in minor thought before only shaking his head, “THAT LAZYBONES SAID HE WAS WORN OUT HELPING YOU GET DRESSED SO HE WENT DOWNSTAIRS TO TAKE A NAP.”

Huh, that made her feel a bit odd about the exchange with him earlier, but after thinking she assumed it must have been a lie that he was going to join them. In a way, this made her more nervous as she was vaguely hoping for that safety net to fall back on in case Blueberry tried another kiss. That unease was returning, but before she could begin to overthink, she felt a gloved hand reach for hers. With a blink, she tried to focus back on Blueberry, finding him staring at her with that searching look she began to grow wary of nowadays.

“S-so uhm, where are we going t--"

“YOU LOOK NICE TOO,” Blueberry interrupted her that caused her to startle lightly in surprise at the sudden compliment. She began to blush and look from him, but he was not done as he puffed out his chest. “NOT AS GOOD AS ME, OF COURSE, BUT SO FAR YOU ARE DOING WELL AT MEETING MY HIGH STANDARDS, HUMAN!”

The warm feeling in her chest dropped after that, but in a way it kind of made her feel better. A smile still plastered on her face while she nodded gently at him. His arrogance was endearing at times she had to admit. With this, she turned her hand in his, the first time she had willingly held one of their hands. Even Blueberry was surprised by this gesture, blinking a couple of times towards her.

“Well, then where will the Magnificent Blue be taking his date tonight?”

“Patricia, could you call me Sans instead, at least during our date,” Blueberry pointed out in a quiet tone that made her deadpan briefly. She did not think much of his tone shift or using her name while she rubbed the back of her head embarrassingly.

“S-sorry, sure, I mean the Magnificent Sans,” she corrected, watching Blueberry light up once more with a firm nod. It was strange of her to be using that name with him, but she did not think it could hurt while Sans was not around. Though, it did cause her to think once more about how unusual it was that they were both Sans somehow. Her stubborn side really did not want to give into believing they actually were alternate reality versions of each other. That would have to wait another day for her to get to the bottom of.

“NORMALLY, AS AMAZING AS I AM, I WOULD BE TAKING YOU SOMEPLACE FAR BETTER, BUT WITH SUCH LIMITS I HAVE SETTLED FOR WHAT I COULD DO!”

With a quick motion, it appeared as though he was going to head to the stairs when he simply turned to extend an arm towards the room he had come out of. This made her blink a few times, seeing the orange and blue painted door and, on peering inside, she could see some furniture of it being a bedroom before she glanced back down to Blueberry.

“That’s uhm-- that’s your room, Bl-- er Sans,” she had to correct herself, nearly forgetting his request, “I meant where we’ll be going out on the date.”

Blueberry shook his head as he exaggerated another show of his free arm towards the room and reaffirmed, “YES, AS I SAID, THIS IS THE BEST PLACE ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE. THE TEMPORARY LIVING QUARTERS THAT OTHER ME HAS PROVIDED PAPS AND I.”

She was not sure if she should be underwhelmed by his choice of location or worried this meant he wanted more bed-requiring antics on their date. With how eager and innocent he looked, she sure hoped the former.

“Blue, that’s not really where you go on a date. At least, not the start of the date, er…” She paused in consideration while Blueberry only gave her increasingly confused stares. He was beginning to get impatient now, tugging at her arm in his own thoughts.

“I CAN’T LEAVE THE MANSION PER THE DOCTOR’S ORDERS, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE DUE,” Blueberry tried to explain that only caused her to raise an eyebrow. She saw no immediate injuries on him while taking this as some sorta medical doctor request. That was until she thought more on that, back to when she spoke to Red by the fountain.

“Doctor? Are you talking about Sans’ dad?”

“YES, WHO ELSE WOULD I BE TALKING ABOUT? HE GIVES PERMISSION TO LEAVE OR NOT.”

At hearing that, she gave an expression as though she had an idea. A smile forming on her lips while she leaned forward a bit in her brilliant plan.

“Then why don’t we just ask if we can have a night out,” she suggested as such a simple solution made Blueberry freeze. That was when he lit up immediately, already giving a hop as he began to head out towards the staircase with her hand still firmly in his, effectively dragging her. All she could do was give a squeak in her breath to the action.

“WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THAT SOONER, HUMAN! AT THIS RATE YOU MAY BECOME AS CLEVER AS I. THIS IS WHY I HAVE CHOSEN TO WOO YOU, MWEH HEH HEH!”

The shock of being pulled around on such impulsive motives was growing on her as her normally reluctant reflex was actually more of an excited twitch. With a nod, she did what she could to keep up with him despite almost taking both of them down with a stumble in her heels. When they arrived downstairs, she warily glanced over to the living room only to find it empty. She could hear muffled talk going on in the kitchen before being pulled out of range towards the stairs into the lower levels. The thought to even ask Blueberry where he was leading them did not come to her mind until they stopped.

That odd door again stood before them. The camera above it snapping to follow the two of them standing there. It made her uneasy as always and now she was giving awkward glances between it and Blueberry. Without hesitation, he raised a hand to give hefty knocks against the metal door, impatiently bouncing on his heels while they waited. . . 

Moments passing before he knocked again, a bit stronger to make sure he was heard.

“Blue, maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” She had already forgot his request to be called Sans that he did not catch in his persistent knocking.

Blueberry began to tap his foot at their presence being completely ignored, the door remaining firmly shut. Even the camera turned away as if on an automatic motor that only increased the awkward silence by the minute. . .

“DOCTOR GASTER, WE JUST HAVE TO ASK A QUESTION,” Blueberry yelled through the door, still seemingly intent on getting it to open up. . .

After several more minutes, Patricia figured she would have to do something or they would be there all night.

“Maybe he’s asleep?”

“psst,” suddenly came Stretch’s tired voice that startled her enough to snap her face to the source, not even hearing or seeing him come down there. Standing in his usual slump, he gave a vague hand gesture to follow towards the two of them just as Blueberry noticed him as well. This was all very strange that had her checking the camera staying turned away.

Blueberry pouted stubbornly and was about to speak up when Stretch reached a finger up in a gesture to stay quiet. This all was so ominous that had her on edge, but he was already turned and starting to walk deeper down the hallway. Only when they were far enough from the door did Blueberry have to break the silence.

“BROTHER, WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? CAN YOU NOT SEE WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF CONVINCING THE DOCTOR TO LET US GO SOMEWHERE MORE SUITED FOR OUR DATE?”

Stretch did not stop walking, but his slow pace was easy to keep up with while he responded in a yawn, “he ain’t gonna letcha in cause you’re with the human.” He hooked a thumb back towards Patricia that caused her to blink a few times. This realization did not settle well with her as she held her hands close to her chest, the fact this part of the mansion being colder becoming far too obvious in her sudden flush of guilt.

“HE WOULD HAVE EVENTUALLY OPENED FOR SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME, MWEH HEH!”

“i ‘spose, heh, no one cool as you, bro,” Stretch huffed, removing his cigarette after a long drag that caused Blueberry to narrow his sockets at the action. He said nothing though while they quietly followed behind to soon arrive at Sans’ Lab.

“What’re we doing in here,” Patricia questioned warily, peering inside as she expected to see Sans down here most of the time. Only after a quick check did she remember he was still upstairs as the other two made their way in and towards the further back. She hesitated to follow, but after a long breath, she did.

“YEAH, PAPS,” Blueberry added to Patricia’s question, “HOW IS ANYTHING IN HERE TO HELP US WITH OUR DATE? THIS IS NOT AN IDEAL LOCATION.” Blueberry muttered more under his breath that she did not quite hear as he was glancing around at the Lab. Her gut did tell her that maybe it was because this was more Sans’ space with all the time he spent down here.

Eventually, Stretch turned towards the two of them, giving an extra look out towards the broken doors before he relaxed his shoulders even further than they usually were. “no cameras here.”

That was not very reassuring as Patricia’s mind instantly went to something negative just in the way Stretch came off as being so indifferent that it nearly felt threatening at times. She shook her head of those malicious thoughts, instead remaining quiet as she knew Blueberry would be far more vocal.

“IT IS NOT NICE TO BE HIDING AROUND, BROTHER,” Blueberry began to scold before his eyes locked on Stretch reaching a hand out from his pocket where something metallic hung from his fingers. The jingle instantly alerted her as well, seeing a set of keys being presented to Blueberry.

“heard ya wanted to go out,” Stretch hummed, but the offer made Blueberry give a confused expression while he reached out for the keys. Patricia herself gave blinking glances between the two growing increasingly worried over what direction this was going.

“Were you watching us,” Patricia pointed out in question that just got her a silent shrug from the lankier brother. It made her cheeks flush slightly that she did not even notice him following them around much less listening in.

Scrunching his eyebrows together, Blueberry then huffed defiantly, “SOMEONE AS PRIDEFUL AS I DOES NOT SNEAK OUT. I MUST NOT SET SUCH A DISTASTEFUL EXAMPLE.” His words were very stern and short that was a little unusual as if he was considering the option. He was not handing back the keys after all.

Stretch scratched the back of his head, almost expecting this to happen before beginning to walk around them as he spoke casually, “whatevs ya want, bro. if you want it, it’s just outside the gate.”

With his job done, he made his way out of the Lab with a lazy wave of his hand, but just before he could leave, Blueberry shouted towards him, “AT LEAST PUT YOUR CIGARETTE OUT IF YOU’RE GOING TO FOLLOW US, PAPS!”

He began to huff as he knew his brother was around the whole time but never said anything due to already agreeing he could tag along. This left Patricia unsure what was even going on while she awkwardly stood there just glancing to Stretch leaving and Blueberry staring down the keys in his hand.

Just as she was about to say something he suddenly let out a frustrated noise, rapidly scratching his skull as if to releasing some of the frustrations that made her take a step back. His hat he wore almost falling and he pulled the sunglasses off to set on the front of his shirt before he turned towards her with a conflicted expression.

“HUMAN! EVEN THOUGH IT IS MY DUTY TO DIRECT THIS DATE, WHAT DO YOU THINK,” he asked boldly that startled her momentarily. “YOUR OPINION IS CONSIDERED. IT IS WRONG TO SNEAK OUT, BUT BEING STUCK IN THIS PLACE IS NOT UP TO MY STANDARDS AS I MUST ONLY BE AT MY BEST ESPECIALLY DURING A DATE! MWEH!”

The egotism on this monster caused her to soften her worries about the situation, a small smile finding its way on her lips and so she began to ponder. Normally, she would be against sneaking out especially from this ‘Doctor Gaster’s’ orders, only having found out more of his name not long ago. An image flashed in her mind of what he could look like; a more serious and older looking Sans is what she pictured, probably hunched over like an older man. Perhaps defying him would not be all that bad since it would just be  _ one night _ .

“We are adults, aren’t we? There doesn’t seem much harm in having a night out,” she suggested that actually lit up Blueberry’s expression considerably. He even puffed his chest out, clutching the keys tight as he already looked ready to burst into his usual confident laughter.

“THEN IT IS DECIDED, WE WILL SHORTCUT TO THIS VEHICLE THAT MY BROTHER HAS PROCURED AND PROCEED WITH THE DATE!”

The moment his proclamation was over he reached for her that sent a chilling reminder of the last time she had been on one of these ‘shortcuts’. Before he grabbed for her she raised her hands up and quickly protested.

“Wait-- wait! Do we have… have to take a shortcut?”

Such a nervous reaction had Blueberry stunned and watching her carefully as he instead only stepped closer to her. There was a concern on his face, feeling as though he remembered something relating to this.

“UNLESS YOU WISH THE CAMERAS TO SEE US, THEN WE MUST,” he pointed out, his voice getting quieter while he continued, “-- did something happen?”

A shiver shot through her as if she just made a slip-up, her breath already stuttering in being unsure how to respond. There was no way she could tell him that Stretch injured her, remembering him and Papyrus talking about how he would react negatively to the information. - Wait,  _ did they say that? _ Why did she just get the gut feeling she should keep that from him still?

“HUMAN?”

Blueberry’s voice snapped her from her hesitation while he noticed how nervous she had become to the point he was looking at her for any sorta sign. That was when his attention landed on her passively rubbing her hand where the injury was. The scars still very faint and the bruising had gone down considerably, but still visible. He had noticed that long ago, but never brought it up even when he would see her rub at it when she got cold or after her showers.

“No… no nothing-- nothing happened. It just makes me a little dizzy,” she lied, darting her eyes away from him as she cursed at herself that this was a horrible start off to a date. Surprisingly, Blueberry smiled wider and pocketed the keys so he could place both his hands on her arms in a soothing manner. Such a gesture made her jump at first, but she could tell he was not shortcutting them just yet.

“YOU CAN TRUST ME, HUMAN! MY MAGIC IS VERY SAFE AND I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR DESIRE TO USE LESS LAZY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION,” he held a cheerful tone with every word, “YOU TRUST ME, right human?”

She jolted at the question and quickly tried to reassure him by raising her hands to lightly grip at his shoulders even though she was still trembling. Part of her felt stupid she was so wary of the magic now when she witnessed them doing it here and there without incident. A grim reminder making her pause that the incident was  _ her fault _ , not Stretch’s.

To shake her from the guilt was Blueberry giving a sudden tight hug to her midsection, the brim of his hat prodding her in the face that he noticed in a chuckled sorry. After turning his hat to the side, he resumed his embrace.

“DO NOT FRET, HUMAN, I WILL SIMPLY SHOW YOU THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR WHEN YOU ARE IN THE ARMS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SANS!”

The moment his voice left her ears the world went black causing her to instinctively hold her arms tight around his shoulders. She refused to look at the suffocating void they had to go through, shutting her eyes tight as she could still feel it clawing at her form like it was trying to rip her away from Blueberry’s grasp. In a split second though, she felt solid ground once more, a cool evening air hitting the sweat built up on the back of her neck.

“SEE, NOTHING BAD HAPPENED! MWEH HEH!”

She opened her eyes slowly to see that they were perfectly fine just outside the gate of the mansion. Blueberry’s arms left her even though a tingling sensation lingered at her chest that she paid little mind to. - Was she just crazy or did he feel warmer than normal?

“Yeah… yeah, I-- yeah I guess that wasn’t bad,” she tried to play off her worries, taking a few steps up on to the sidewalk as they had teleported into the road. Blueberry had walked off towards where something was set parked on the curb just out of view from the front gate. That must be their ride.

“WOWIE! PAPS DID NOT INFORM ME THAT HE FOUND ONE OF THESE,” Blueberry squealed in delight, his eye lights shaping to their stars that she felt she had not seen in a while. To see what he was talking about, she looked at what their ride was. Even she got a shocked look as it was clearly not something she remembered seeing outside the house.

Propped on the curb was a stylish sporty motorcycle complete with polished silver chrome and equally flashy blue paint. Even without being knowledged in the department, she knew this was a more expensive type of ride that someone would not just come across. For a moment, she blinked in growing a worried look that this might be stolen.

“How did he even get this? I thought you guys weren’t allowed to leave,” she questioned, watching Blueberry already getting up on the seat with a surprising skill despite his smaller stature. Apparently, this had distracted him instantly from the fact they were breaking a rule and sneaking out.

“MM, PAPS OFTEN DOES THIS SO IT IS NO SURPRISE,” Blueberry spoke as he dug the keys from his pocket to look over, “HE EVEN MANAGED TO FIND A BLUE RACE CAR BED BACK HOME FROM THE DUMP! OF COURSE, NOT AS GOOD AS ONE OF THESE, BUT IT IS QUITE DIFFICULT TO SLEEP ON A MOTORCYCLE.”

As she walked forward, she could not help but notice the different expression Blueberry held while admiring the vehicle. He was beyond excited just before he seemed to snap out of it, glancing up towards her approaching. A sudden flush of blue came across his face as if he noticed how distracted he became.

“I take it you like motorcycles,” she asked playfully, watching him trying to hide any fluster he had towards his overreaction. It was adorable, to say the least, while she could not hold back the soft giggle she produced which only furthered his embarrassment.

After a moment, he began to laugh in return and gave a sudden puff of his chest in his confidence returning. Straightening himself on the bike and scooting a bit forward he reached back to pat on the space behind him. This instantly made her realize where she would be sitting.

“WHEN WE REACH THE SURFACE BACK HOME,” Blueberry began to speak, his words flowing with more passion, “I’D LIKE TO GET ONE OF THESE OF MY OWN AND DRIVE IT DOWN A LONG HIGHWAY! WIND IN MY HAIR, SUN ON MY SKI--" He paused suddenly, moving to rub his chin as if he was remembering something. Before she could question that or the fact he had no hair, he spoke aloud, “Why do I feel like I’ve said that before…”

Such a thing being said made her ponder too, but in that same moment he shook his head and pressed the keys in the ignition. The sound of the motorcycle coming to life caused her to startle, the thing being much louder than she thought it would. More sporty bikes were normally a bit quieter, but she was not going to question it before she was stuck with the dilemma of how to ride this thing.

“I uhm… my dress-- I mean to ride I have to uhm,” she stuttered out, her face beginning to burn at even saying that she had to hike her dress up quite a bit just to be able to ride behind him. Not only that, but she had never ridden on one before, especially with a guy. Granted, this was a sweet monster that she only sometimes felt uncomfortable about in a sexual manner when he suddenly kissed her, but still!

Blueberry was not following as he cocked his head and gave a thinking expression, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND, HUMAN? FIRST YOU WERE TIMID ABOUT SHORTCUTS AND NOW YOU DO NOT WANT TO RIDE?” He let out a whine while he was trying to understand some sort of connections or what he was missing here. “IS THIS ABOUT HAVING TO TOUCH ME? YOU HAVE IMPROVED A LOT SINCE WE FIRST MET SO I DO NOT SEE THE PROBLEM. EITHER THAT OR YOUR STANDARDS ARE EVEN HIGHER THAN MY OWN BUT THAT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM WITH HOW AMAZING I AM.”

Her blushing faltered as she took in the long-winded deduction he said towards her, deadpanning briefly before she had to wonder what he meant by her improving since they met. Now that she really thought about it, she had grown considerably more comfortable to being touched since interacting with these skeletons. It was almost odd as she had always been very avoidant of such things all of her life. Something like that changing in just a few days-- coupled with her willingness not to just quit this job. - Why did she get a numbing sensation to those thoughts?

“REGARDLESS, I AM SURE YOU WILL GET OVER IT WITH TIME, HUMAN! NOW, COME ON, YOU’RE WITH THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, REMEMBER? NO NEED TO WORRY,” Blueberry cast a bright smile at her to quell any nervous feelings she had. It did not ease her entirely as she would have hoped, but just enough that she stepped forward and pulled on her dress some.

“Don’t… don’t look at my legs until-- until I’m on, okay?”

The request perplexed Blueberry until he eyed her hiking her dress up just enough to be able to swing her leg over the bike to which he quickly snapped his face away from. At least now he understood her hesitation when he had caught glimpse of what she had under it for a brief enough moment to make his face turn blue. He did as she asked and waited until she was settled behind him and draping the ends of her dress over her exposed thighs to not be showing herself off to the world as they rode. If it had not been a hassle to get out there, she would have gone back inside to change into something better suited for riding. 

Once he noticed she was settled, he leaned forward to kick off, yet hesitated. In a hum of realization, he reached back behind him for her to her hands that were nervously held at her sides. The action confused her enough to pull away on reflex, but with how gentle he was she allowed him to pull her hands forward to settle around his ribcage. A soft squeak escaped her whenever she fell forward in such a position, her front flushed against his back while her chin had to rest on one of his shoulders. She had to admit, he was much bonier than when he wore his armor, the position almost uncomfortable, but once his hands reached for the handlebars once more she had no choice but to tighten her arms around him out of fear of falling off.

“MWEH HEH! HOLD ON, HUMAN!!”

The engine revved and she could feel the vehicle jerk forward in acceleration that took the breath out of her. He was not holding back on going for speed but seemed to have good control over the motorcycle as if he had used one before. If she were not holding onto him for dear life, she may have questioned that.

 

**\--Meanwhile--**

 

“‘ey, shitty me, where de bitch at?”

Red wandered around the living room after descending the stairs, his sights set on Sans lounging on the couch and Papyrus nearby picking up the dishes from their just eaten meal. The two of them exchanged looks before Sans offered him a shrug.

“dunno, prolly sleeping,” Sans responded, giving a long yawn despite the same question burning in his mind. He noticed she did not come to dinner after her talk with Blueberry who was also absent. Stretch being gone as well sent some red flags in his mind. He assumed Red concluded the same, yet was far more vocal about it.

Papyrus, on the other hand, waved off the concern, speaking up to the both of them, “IT IS NOT OUR BUSINESS WHILE SHE IS NOT WORKING. YOU BOTH SUFFOCATE HER SO MUCH I MAY HAVE TO REGULATE EARLY VACATION DAYS FOR HER.”

“vacation days? pfft, as if she needs ‘em wit’ what little work she been puttin’ in,” Red scoffed at the notion, just the thought of her being away for days-- even weeks, put him on edge. -  _ What if she never returned? _

“if she wants some time off all she has to do is ask. not like i’m keeping her here against her will or anything,” Sans said in a casual manner to cover up his own feelings to the situation. Papyrus noticed this and narrowed his eyes towards his brother.

“PERHAPS I SHOULD RECONSIDER GETTING GRILLBY INVOLVED. I SPOKE WITH HIM JUST YESTERDAY AND HE HAS ALREADY OFFERED A PLACE SHE CAN GO AND A JOB IF SHE DOES NOT DO WELL HERE.”

Both Red and Sans reacted immediately to this, becoming motionless in their spots with sweat drops forming on their skulls. More so on Red, as he was the first to stomp forward in a challenging manner towards Papyrus, the taller monster paying no mind to the attempt at intimidation.

“de fuck ya will! what’s dat hot head gotta do wit’ dis, huh?!”

For a moment, all that came into Red’s mind was what he knew of his own Grillby. Images of seeing the purple flamed elemental having his arms around the human that he wanted to claim. He gave a hard gulp at such a sight clouding his mind before boiling rage caused his bones to rattle. The other two took notice of this as Sans quickly made a noise in his throat to get attention back to reality.

“as much as i believe she is doing fine here, if she wants to quit and go work for grillbz then that’s her choice,” Sans gritted his teeth the moment those words escaped him. He was doing all he could to cover up any jealousy he may have of losing his control subject that he was already having stress over just trying to keep here. There was no way he would argue against his brother’s words though as just looking up at Papyrus softened his expression to his more indifferent demeanor. Red, on the other hand, was not as accepting.

“ya gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. ain’t I de one in charge ofs her now? if so den I say no, her ass is stayin’ here,” Red growled, literally putting his foot down in a stomp that Papyrus merely let a long sigh out to, clearly not enjoying having to reign in Red’s attitude on such a regular basis. It made him think of what the Papyrus of Red’s reality must be like.

“YOU REALLY MUST PUT SOME MORE EFFORT INTO MAKING HER FEEL COMFORTABLE HERE IF YOU REALLY WISH FOR HER TO STAY. I KNOW NOT ALL OF US CAN BE AS PERFECT AS I AM WITH BEING FRIENDLY TO HUMANS, BUT AT LEAST PUT SOME BACKBONE INTO IT, NYEH!”

Papyrus approached Red to point a finger in his face just to solidify his words which caused him to take a sudden step backward out of reflex. His eye lights shrunk and he flinched as if expecting to be hit, but Papyrus only moved back away to resume picking up the dishes. He was aware of how Red reacted, yet kept silent while Sans did not.

“yo, Red, what’s your paps like anyhow?”

Red immediately froze to the out of the blue question, still on the defensive that only made him begin to grow nervous rapidly so he let out a loud scoff, “much betta den your goodie-two-shoes brother. none of ya would last two seconds ‘round ‘im. boss woulda dusted ya de second yous showed weakness.”

Both Sans and Papyrus took this in, glancing at one another and Sans only shrugged off the vague threats. Papyrus though had a look of concern that confused Red did all he could to ignore, their conversation going silent. When Papyrus left to the kitchen, Red was finally fed up with the sudden awkward air that built up, staring down Sans with irritation.

“why yous two fucks suddenly lookin’ at me like ya givin’ pity?!” Red spat after his words, impatiently tapping his foot, however Sans only continued to give him a look of concern.

“do you even wanna go back to your world?”

That question echoed in Red’s skull a few times before he finally registered it. Once he did though, his jaw tightened and he turned his back immediately. He was done with this conversation and stormed off towards the front door. Reaching to open it, he hesitated as if waiting for Sans to ask where he was going or threaten him not to leave. He never did though as he allowed Red to do so, letting him walk out even without a single complaint.

“THAT WAS A POOR COURSE OF ACTION, BROTHER. PERHAPS I SHOULD GO KEEP AN EYE ON HIM OR MAYBE TRY TO TALK.”

Papyrus made his way out of the kitchen after overhearing the whole thing. Sans only shrugged, closing his eyes while he sunk into the couch to relax. “nah, c’mon, paps, you’d know better than me. think ‘bout how much a wreck i'd be without’cha.”

 

**\--Outside--**

 

“damn, dose fuckers,” Red cussed to himself, extending his hand as he brandished a red glow of magic, soon a bone forming that he gripped roughly. “thinkin’ dey know how my world works,” he continued to snarl to himself, his hand shaking with his squeeze on the weapon he made.

**_WHAM!_ ** With a harsh blunt smack, he slammed the bone down into the fountain, shattering the stonework around it as water began to pour out rapidly that he paid no mind to flooding over his sneakers. The lights in his eye sockets gone while his figure in the nighttime was near invisible except by the lights of the mansion.

“they’d not lasts two seconds in dat place wit’ not even a child’s LV, jus’ like--  **FUCK** !”

His self-monologue was cut off whenever he finally noticed his shoes being soaked through by the moldy water that flowed from the broken fountain. The bone vanished from his hand in his attempt to step away from the gushing liquid, shaking his feet rapidly while cursing gibberish escaped from him. Once away from the water, he sat down on the grass to pull off his sneaker and shake it out. 

Just then, the sound of an engine revving alerted him and he squinted his eyes in the direction of the noise. Just beyond the bars of the high fence, he saw a single headlight flicker on, but he was too far to tell what it was. Curious about this, he got up and ignored his lopped walk from only wearing one shoe, keeping the other in his hand as he got closer to inspect what the sound was.

_ “MWEH HEH! HOLD ON, HUMAN!!” _

The voice he heard he recognized right away, his eyes focusing on the two figures on a motorcycle about to take off. When he realized who they were and the way she was dressed up-- his shoe slipped from his hand to hit the grass with a dull thump. His soul dropped with it while he saw them speed away and only after long seconds passed did his soul flare back up. Many questions went through his mind, but one stuck out among the rest.

“where’s he takin’   **m y  h u m a n** ?”

 

\--

 

“Ugh, remind me not to stare at the road when we ride,” Patricia complained with a dizzy expression that bothered her enough to have to close her eyes. Her chin settled on Blueberry’s shoulder while the motorcycle slowed down to a stop. They were just inside the monster part of town that was brimming with activity, unlike the previous time she was here. With the celebrations over, life had returned to normal. This meant that monsters were returned to their more nightly routines as a few looked their way briefly just out of how rare a human was at this hour in this part of the city.

“MWEH HEH, YOU WILL GET USED TO IT WITH PRACTICE! NOW, HOW ABOUT SOMEPLACE TO EAT,” Blueberry hummed, glancing about the nearby buildings that sent a perplexed articulation on his face. He was not familiar with more than street layouts from his studies of the maps Sans gave him when they first arrived just in case he had to shortcut someplace. “I KNOW THERE'S A VENUE LIKE MUFFET’S NEARBY, BUT THAT IS FAR TOO UNHEALTHY!”

Still recovering a bit from their ride, Patricia finally came to her senses and gave her input, “Muffet’s? I think there’s a bakery by that name, so I don’t know about unhealthy food there. If you’re asking me where to go I’m not much help either.”

Blueberry made a little fussy noise in his inexperience with this area himself, but suddenly, he puffed his chest after coming to a resolution, “THEN I HAVE A BRILLIANT PLAN! ALTHOUGH THAT IS NO SURPRISE AS ANY PLAN THE MAGNIFICENT SANS COMES UP WITH IS UNPARALLELED.”

At first, she was sure they would take off again, but Blueberry hopped from the bike leaving her sitting there. She almost panicked when she noticed he already propped it up so that it would not fall over, but she still quickly swung her leg over to get off too. It was still a struggle to try to maneuver in a dress, but she managed without incident in a quick motion. By the time she was done, she watched Blueberry approaching a smaller group of monsters eagerly.

“GREETINGS, FELLOW MONSTERS! I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, AM HERE TO ASK WHERE YOUR FINEST FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS ARE! MWEH HEH!”

She felt herself almost fall over from overhearing that he was actually asking for directions, on their date of all times. With a long breath, she collected herself and figured it could not be helped since neither of them knew their way around this area too well. Honestly, his forward actions and friendly attitude cast a smile on her lips while she stood back and watched him socialize.

A taller slime monster rubbed at his exaggerated mustache, eyeing Blueberry for a long moment just as one of the bunny girls with him gave a giggle at looking over his attire. This did not seem to faze Blueberry one bit, even posing slightly in the attention he was getting.

“Mmm, moooost younglin’s and locals just go over to Grillby’s, but if you're lookin’ fer somethin’ special for your pretty little number over there,” the slime said in a coy manner, pointing over towards Patricia as she was modestly straightening her dress out, “-- then take ‘er over to MTT’s new setup. Place is expensive but sure to be top notch for you. Just head up the road and you can’t miss it.”

The other girl of the group, a cat monster, let out a soft purring laugh that was soon joined by the bunny monster. The two of them nodding in agreement while Patricia nearby just caught wind that the slime monster had just called her a ‘pretty little number’. Such a gesture left her blushing while she looked away from them with haste just as Blueberry glanced between them in a curious hum.

“AH, THANKS A BUNCH! Although…” Blueberry’s demeanor changed at the drop of a hat while a flash of red came in his shrinking blue eye lights, “-- eyeing other monster’s property is rude. Don't do it again.”

The group of monsters instantly froze while Blueberry’s look brightened back up to his cheerful friendly demeanor. This brisk change of mood went completely missed by Patricia while she was turned away and patting her flushed cheeks. The slime monster could almost feel his form shattering from just how cold the threat was. Before they could say a word though, Blueberry gave a wave at them and returned to his date.

“Let’s-- Let’s go,” the cat monster quickly said, pulling on the other two as they left with agreements on the tip of their breath. One or two other monsters overheard what was said and kept their distance, noticing the hostile emotions coming off Blueberry in that split moment immediately. Unfortunately for Patricia, she did not notice a single thing out of place as she was told about where they were heading. The two departed shortly after down the road at an easier speed to fit the busier side of the city.

_ Nearby _ , a pair of red pricked eyes followed the trio fleeing from what had just happened. The glint of gold reflecting off the street lights as in an alleyway Red stood just out of sight. He watched the whole thing happen and turned to walk down the alleyway in firm steps. A curse came from him when he kicked at a nearby crate, shattering the wood with ease. Those red eyes of his were burning enough to cause a trail of red to leak from his sockets, barely containing his magic from his rollercoaster of emotions. The only thing keeping himself in check was questioning himself why he cared about this random human so much.  _ What was happening to him? _

 

\--

 

“Welcome to MTT’s Special Exclusive New Restaurant! Now serving both monsters and humans! Do you have a reservation?”

A hand monster stood before them, her dark blue skin and brilliantly red painted nails nearly taking away from the sharply dressed suit she sported. Her introduction was directed towards Blueberry standing at the front as Patricia was lost in staring up at the elegant structure before them. This place was absolutely massive with gold plating and marble floors-- such a building she thought only existed in movies. A grand fountain stood in the middle of the entrance that she recognized to be of the infamous Mettaton who surprisingly stuck around Mt. Ebott instead of venturing off to bigger venues. She could respect him for sticking around his own kind in saying he would always be the monster’s star.

“OF COURSE, I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS HAVE A RESERVATION!”

This proclamation caught Patricia’s attention while she gave him a curious look in stating, “You do? I thought you didn’t even know this place existed until now.”

Blueberry suddenly tensed and then began to let out an exaggerated fake laughter that had both her and the hand monster growing awkward listening to, “WHAT? WHY WOULD I,  **THE MAGNIFICENT SANS** , COME HERE WITHOUT A RESERVATION?  _ SURELY _ SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME DO NOT NEED TO EVEN WORRY ABOUT SUCH INSIGNIFICANT INCONVENIENCES.”

That laughter continued from him as it was becoming obvious that they did not have one and Blueberry’s lies were only unfolding more and more. She gave a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose while she was about to pull him back to tell him they should leave. Before she even got the chance to, someone walked over to them that cast a shadow over them that made her feel like she was seeing double. For a moment, she thought that the fountain had suddenly come to life and walked right to them, but she was mistaken as the one standing before them was far more vibrant in color.

“Oh darling, Sans?  _ Is that you? _ It’s been too long! I see you've attempted to update your fashion.”

A mechanical voice boomed much like it was amplified with a speaker. Standing before them was none other than Mettaton currently dressed up in a high dollar suit complete with an exaggerated fur collar coat that just brimmed with wealth. The gray, pink, and blacks of his robotic body were polished nicely and he had the body structure most women dreamed in a man. She herself was not one of them most of the time, but she could still see the overwhelming appeal in his perfect jawline and award-winning smile especially when he leaned towards them in an inspection.

“Sir… I mean-- Boss, Mettaton! What are you doing here,” the hand monster suddenly sputtered out, quite surprised by this entrance. During this, Blueberry was staring at Mettaton as if trying to analyze him in his overly curious manner.

“DO I KNOW YOU?”

Everyone but Blueberry reacted in a dumbfounded manner once they heard him spout that question, especially Mettaton. A look of irritation threatened to ruin his gleaming smile, yet he endured while stepping forward towards them.

“Darling, I know we may have had our differences, but how could you forget the star of the Underground,” Mettaton announced, posing himself in such a way that made Patricia jolt back in fear of getting hit by accident. Still, Blueberry was completely unfazed until he simply pats his fist into the palm of his hand as if just getting the idea.

“AH, YOU’RE JUST LIKE NAPSTATON,” Blueberry pointed out happily, now finally getting a bit excited as he bounced where he stood. This whole situation had Patricia utterly lost while she just decided to stay quiet for fear of saying something wrong. Mettaton, on the other hand, went silent at the name Blueberry mentioned before straightening his suit. 

“Sans, I believe your retirement from teaching has your head in the clouds. How about I set you up with a free table for you and your…” Mettaton trailed off as he pointed towards Patricia in question, now eyeing her with some interest. There was an obvious peculiar gleam that came with wondering what Blueberry (which he thought was Sans) was doing here with a human.

“AH! THIS IS MY DATE,” Blueberry introduced pridefully, walking back towards her to place an arm just around her waist which was a surprisingly bold action startling her enough to arch her back. She did not want to act too strangely in front of a celebrity though so she gave a nervous laughter, letting Blueberry settle his hand on her hip. “EVEN THOUGH I VERY CLEARLY WOULD HAVE A RESERVATION, I WOULD NOT BE AGAINST TAKING THIS OFFER AS A GESTURE OF KINDNESS! MWEH HEH!”

Mettaton looked at the two of them for a few seconds, rubbing his chin in his inner thoughts before finally snapping back up straight, “Wonderful! I’m sure she can get you set up,” he motioned towards the hand monster who quickly gave some nods with her fingers, “In the meantime, I really must say that you are sounding more and more like your brother every day. Honestly, I mistook you for him when I heard your voice, darling.”

“MISTOOK ME FOR PAPS? PERHAPS IF THAT LAZYBONES DID MORE THAN SLEEP ALL DAY, MWEH!” Blueberry pouted every so slightly as if feeling insulted by the comparison. This made Mettaton blink in some unsureness, but suddenly let out a roaring laughter.

“Always the funny one! Do get in contact with me if you wish to resume your comedy shows sometime. This place could really use the laughs,” Mettaton said with a friendly hum in his motors before walking off. Once he had gone far enough away to be out of sight, Patricia let out a breath and reached for Blueberry’s hand on her hip. It only tightened when she attempted to brush it off.

“Blu-- er Sans, you can ease up now,” she whispered her words which snapped Blueberry out of a silent thought to which he removed his grip to wander over to the hand monster to finish their reservations. There was more she wanted to say to him, but she figured she would wait until they sat down for dinner since the night had only just begun.

_ Just out of sight _ , a pillar nearby chipped away with a clawed skeleton hand digging into it so hard it was cracking into the surface. Dust and chunks of the stone fell down just before the hand released and slipped away from sight. Red’s hostile stalking was only increasing as the night progressed.


End file.
